A New Age
by Violet-Pears
Summary: War is brewing and heroes and villains alike will be thrown into a situation they could never have been prepared for. In a world where enemies become friends and friends become enemies, the super-human community must stand up and fight the one battle they have never dreamed of. They each have the same choice to make? Who are they really? Heroes? Or Villains?
1. Tension Rising

**So... I just had to do this. Write a first chapter and depending on how people react to it I'll continue with it.**

**If people do want this continued I'll update every fortnight; one week my other story the next week this story.**

**People will react to this in different ways, and I'm pretty sure a similar type of fic has been done for a number of different fandoms. **

**This does not reflect my own views. This is not aimed to criticise other peoples views. This is simply a fic that deals with how the Team would deal with such a situation. It is simply a story. I won't go into too much detail with politics because that's not me. It is literally about the feelings and opinions of the different characters and how they would go about trying to deal with being thrown into a situation where their loyalties are put to the test.**

**This is also set in a slight AU. Supermartian is happening. Wally never died. Wally and Artemis were never a couple. The Cave was never destroyed. The Team decided to go by Young Justice. Young Justice are no longer just a Covert Operations Team. Some of the team members have loyalties to other teams as well: Garfield/Dick/Tim – Teen Titans; Wally – Honorary Titan; Karen – Titans East. Other Teams (and team members) will be mentioned/could play a small (background) role. Villains from Teen Titans will probably be used/mentioned.**

**Hopefully y'all enjoy this. It's my first time writing something like this.**

* * *

The Team were in the common room. Garfield and Bart were sat on the floor, with Jaime, Cassie and Tim sat behind them on the couch. Wally was perched on the arm of the couch while Dick, Artemis, Barbra and Kaldur all stood behind the couch. M'Gann and Conner were sat on the chair to the left of the couch while La'Gaan was on the right, with Mal sat on the arm of the chair and Karen stood next to him.

"_Crime rates in America continue to rise. With the election only a few days away The Eagle-Eye Patriots have promised that should they win the election they will make lowering the amount of crime going on their top priority._

_Crime has been a major problem in America for a long time and the rates are now at an all time high. The Justice League, The Doom Patrol, The Teen Titans, Titans East and Young Justice have been doing what they can to keep the crime rates down to the best of their ability but it is still not enough. The so called super-villains are getting smarter and cannot be contained._

_Gregory Duncan has promised simple solutions in eradicating the crime rates, along with lowering poverty rates, and unemployment rates. He has promised to start a new America. A better America. A respected America._

_Gre-"_

The TV switched off and all eyes turned to stare at Artemis who was glaring at the television. She dropped the remote down onto the couch, next to Tim.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't bear to listen to another word of that crap." She growled. "There are no simple solutions and all that BS that Duncan has been advertising..." She let out an annoyed huff of air as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Cy says that he's making promises he'll never be able to make. Even if he wins in a few days, he'll lose in two years." Garfield piped up, shooting Artemis an uneasy smile. "Rae's of the same opinion you are."

"Don't get started on Raven, please?" Dick looked over at Garfield with a frown on his face. "I was insulted enough at the time." He turned to Artemis. "Look, the guy is probably never going to be able to keep his promises but he does have good ideas. People won't be able to get away with crime as easily. He'll lock up those who deserve it and they'll do the time that they deserves. Nobody will get off on technicalities. It's a system that could work."

Barbara smiled weakly and shrugged her shoulders. "Unless he's actually worked everything out so that there are no faults in the system, it won't work. But like D-Nightwing said, it's a good idea."

The tension in the room was growing as the silence began dragging. Artemis shook her head as she looked at the two older members of the Bat-Clan. "I'm sorry, but no. He is willing to _throw_ anyone _into_ jail, based on _technicalities_. That's worse than letting someone out based on technicalities. You can't do that. He's allowing police to bring in suspects using _full force_. What if they harm someone they _suspect_ to have committed a crime, but the person is proven to be innocent? The plan has flaws. Fatal flaws!"

Taking in a shuddering breath Artemis turned on her heel. "I'm going home."

Garfield watched as she walked away and frowned. He remembered the similar conversation that occurred between Raven and Nightwing. Raven had stormed out then as well. She had mentioned the fact that it was all due to peoples obsession with perfection. Nightwing had not been amused, especially after she told him that he couldn't really complain about people breaking the law because that was what he was doing. Working outside the law to detain criminals. A vigilante was by all technicality, a criminal. Yet he was out walking free.

Garfield met Bart's eyes. "Do you think she's right?" Bart asked quietly.

He didn't even need to think about it. Gar nodded. "Definitely." He sighed. "If that's Rae, Vic and 'mis saying so... Then yeah, they are right."

Bart nodded, his eyes dropping to the ground. "This never happened in the future."

"Probably because there was an apocalypse happening."

Bart smiled wryly. "So..."

"We could always go to Titans Tower and play Mega Monkey's five. Take our minds off of all this mess?" Gar suggested.

Bart nodded. Green eyes suddenly sparkling with excitement, "Sounds crash!"

Garfield had only really suggested it so he had a reason to get the prospect of what could happen off his own mind. He didn't want to be plagued by thoughts of 'what if'. He had already experienced the almost take over of one country he had lived in. He didn't need to go through that again. But something was telling him he really was going to have to suffer a successful take over of a country. A take over that Raven had suggested to him, could turn into a dictatorship. He didn't like the sound of that, but the clues were all there, he wasn't as stupid as other people tended to make him out to be.

Gregory Duncan made his skin crawl. His senses screamed at him that there was something wrong with the guy, but he was afraid of speaking out against the man properly. He had watched the rift grow between Raven and Nightwing. He could see the tension growing between Artemis, Barbara and Dick. If Duncan won the election he knew things would go down hill very quickly. He was terrified about what could happen. He worried over what would happen with his friends. He knew he shared similar opinions with Raven and Artemis. He knew Victor was incredibly wary; could possibly swing either way. He had never had a proper conversation with Bart about it, but he was sure they shared similar opinions.

He was tempted to discuss it with the young speedster, but he wanted to wait it out slightly. Wait until the election had been and gone. Wait a week or so until Duncan had demonstrated what kind of a President he was going to be and then he could talk to Bart.

It was his citizenship that scared him. All the 'Americans First' talk terrified him. He had been born in America, but he moved to Qurac the year he was born. He hadn't returned to America until he was nine. He didn't have a passport and he hadn't seen his birth certificate in years. When Rita and Steve had taken him in after the murder of his mother (Rita had been Marie's best friend since they had met on Hello Megan) they had assured him because he had been on American soil he was American. But that no longer eased the dread he felt.

_M'Gann isn't American either. Neither is Aqualad, Tempest, Lagoon Boy, Raven, Star, Blue... technically Impulse isn't even American, not yet anyway..._

"Yo! BB, you coming or not?"

Gar looked up to see Bart over by the door, waiting to go to the zeta's.

"Coming!"

* * *

**Should I continue this story, I will probably have it focus from Garfield's perspective and possibly Dick's as well.**

**Now, I should probably mention some ages.**

**Nightwing - 21 Robin - 16**

**Kid Flash - 23 Impulse - 15**

**Aqualad - 23 Wonder Girl - 16**

**Artemis - 23 Blue Beetle - 17**

**Miss Martian - 20 Beast Boy - 15**

**Superboy - 8/16 Guardian - 24**

**Lagoon Boy - 19 Bumblebee - 22**


	2. Election Day

It was Election Day and thankfully most of the criminals had decided to decided to take the day off from causing havoc. It wasn't overly surprising, the Patriots had gained more and more support and crime had been dropping in the build up to the election. When the polls came through, it was almost unsurprising that Mr Duncan had been elected as president. What was actually surprising was the number of seats the"Eagle-Eyed Patriots" were winning in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate and had almost claimed majorities in both chambers.

Young Justice had been glued to the television almost all day – those of whom had decided to watch the election at the cave rather than somewhere else – watching as the election results slowly unfurled. Robin had gone to Titans Tower along with Kid Flash. Bumblebee had taken Guardian with her and the two had gone to Titans East's tower. Blue Beetle had remained at home to watch with his parents rather than dealing with 'whatever argument will breakout if Duncan wins'.

Impulse and Miss Martian watched with the curiosity of children. It was the second election Miss Martian had watched, but it was still incredibly foreign to her. She had yet to pick up on how the system actually worked. While Impulse had gone fifteen years of never experiencing democracy, far less an election. He had lived in a time where humans were slaves to the Reach, and the Reach were the unquestionable rulers.

Beast Boy joined Artemis on the couch, both of them looking as downtrodden as the other.

"I think they're gonna win majorities in both houses." He muttered under his breath.

Artemis shot him a sideways glance and nodded once "I think you're right. I don't like this Gar."

Miss Martian looked up, her gaze landing on Artemis. "Why are you so concerned, Artemis? They are the Patriots, are they not? People who love their country and who want nothing but the best for there country."

Artemis refused to reply, and Beast Boy understood why. Even he had refused to discuss anything politically related with his blood sister, he didn't want to break bridges.

"'mis you worry far too much. Duncan's made far too many promises that he'll never be able to keep. He won't win the mid-terms." Wonder Girl stated confidently.

"I hope you're right Cass, I really, really hope you're right."

A number of people turned in surprise. It wasn't Artemis who had replied, but Beast Boy. Artemis smiled thankfully at him and he nodded his head in response. He was entitled to his own opinion. But he refused to shove it down anyones throat. So he would make a comment like that and hope that it didn't start any arguments, because he couldn't bear to lose his friends, __his family__, over something as stupid as politics.

It was maybe ten minutes later when it was announced that Gregory Duncan was going to make his victory speech. Garfield shifted on the spot slightly, eyes narrowing at the screen. Impulse had moved from his spot on the floor to sit on the arm of the couch, next to Garfield. The green skinned boy didn't even turn to look up at his friend.

"Thisisn'tlookingtogood." Impulse spoke so quickly and quietly that no one else in the room would have been able to understand or even hear what it was he had said. But due to having heightened hearing due to his 'animal senses' Garfield had just caught what his friend was saying, and he nodded his head once in agreement.

The screen switched to a stage with a large podium. Behind the podium the wall was draped in American and Eagle-Eyed Patriot Party flags. A large banner with the words "Scilicet Ordo, Perfectio, Puritas" was hanging above both the flags.

Gregory Duncan was a man who was roughly in his early thirties. He was relatively handsome and was very well built. The national anthem played over the speakers as the crowed showed their approval with cheers and applause . He stood at his place behind the podium and waved at the crowd twice, a wave that could make a member of the British Royal family jealous. He then tapped on the microphone twice before beginning his speech.

"Today is the day! Today is simply the dawn. The dawn of a new America. Of a strong America. Of a better America! An America that is not ashamed of its past. Of its heritage. An America that is willing to stand up strong and fight for what it believes in. An America that can prove its place in the world once more."

The crowd roared in approval.

"I have promised to deal with the continuous wave of crime that is bombarding our beautiful country and promise once again that this shall be my first priority when I take office. I promised to eradicate the vermin that plagues our beautiful nation. I have promised that justice will be swift and punishment will be __appropriate__. Criminals will no longer be treated as the people they are not. They will not be molly-coddled. They will be treated as the monsters they are! We will have no more charges dropped on __technicalities__. No more early releases. They say that it's impossible, but I will find away, even if it's stranding the criminals in the middle of desserts and leaving them to fend for __themselves__!."

The crowd continued to roar.

"And to help with this process, I shall be holding a summit for crime eradication tomorrow. In which all Police Chiefs, Sheriffs, and Prosecutors will be invited, as will superhero groups such as the Justice League, the Doom Patrol, the Teen Titans, the Shadow Fighters, The Sentinels of Magic, Titans East, The Elite, The Outsiders and Young Justice."

Once again, the crowd cheered.

"Smile, citizens of America, today is __the__ day. We will fight and destroy the cancer that is plaguing us and this time the vermin will not stand a chance; the can try to run, they can try to hide, but they will never succeed. We will take this country back! We will take __our__ country back! We can do this! We can rebuild our country into something beautiful and something amazing! Americans Come First! Hold your head high, my dear Americans, for soon our greatness shall shine for the entire world to see. We Will Triumph."

"__America __will triumph!"

The TV went blank. Artemis held the remote in her hand, an emotionless mask on her face.

"I'm sorry but I refuse to listen to another word of that, that–" She stood up, letting out a frustrated groan.

Before she could either attempt to finish what she was saying or leave the room, a beeping was sounded throughout the cave. The team all exchanged looks before making there way through to the mission room; those who had taken their masks or cowls off when watching the news were pulling them on. The large holographic computer in the mission room was active and a red strip with white lettering read 'TRANSMISSION'. Nightwing hit accept.

Bryan Schmitt was one of Gregory Duncan's right-hand men. He was roughly forty-five years old with a large black mustache, his hair gelled back out of his face. His eyes were wide and a greenish blue colour.

"Good evening, Young Justice."

"Good evening, Mr. Schmitt. We didn't expect a call from anyone, quite so soon." Nightwing responded

The man's smile gave Garfield the creeps.

"We are moving fast, Nightwing. President Elect Duncan's will do everything possible to keep his promises and he will do it all quickly. The crime eradication summit, as you well know, is being held tomorrow and we would appreciate it if you and your team could attend."

Nightwing turned to the team, where each member nodded their heads. He turned back to Bryan Schmitt and nodded. "We would all be happy to attend the summit."

The 'creepy' smile returned to Schmitt's face before he responded. "Actually, not everyone on your team is invited. Only yourself, Robin (as he has already been informed), the same goes for Kid Flash, Artemis, Blue Beetle, Superboy, Bumblebee and guardian."

"What-" Nightwing frowned. "Why is this? Is there a problem.

"Of course not, Nightwing. But surely you recall that we have mentioned that our goal is: "Americans first!" This being the case, only those who are American born are invited to the summit."

Garfield's stomach dropped. He felt sick. His heart was pounding in his chest as he took a step forward slightly.

"What about me? I'm American!" He protested.

Schmitt eyed him carefully "Beast Boy. Perhaps you are, now. But if I'm not mistaken -" He looked down at a sheet of paper before looking back up to Beast Boy. "You were born in Africa."

"No, I wasn't. I was born in Garfield Medical Center, in Los Angeles!" He heard Bart chuckle slightly behind him and he wanted to groan. His parents had named him after the hospital he was born in, yes, but he really didn't want to have to deal with explaining that one at that point in time.

"Yes, we have heard that, that is your story. But there is no proof to your claim, and thus we unfortunately cannot allow you to the summit. Unless you do have proof-"

"What do you mean? There has to be records of my birth on the databases! Just look it up!"

"I'm very sorry Mr. Logan, but rules are rules. And you are not the only member of the team excluded, neither Aqualad or Lagoon Boy have been invited, both of who work alongside the king of Atlantis. Wonder Girl is – from what we have heard – the daughter of Zeus. Miss Martian is Martian. And like you Impulse claims to be American born, but there is no evidence of such a thing." Schmitt turned his gaze onto Nightwing. "This will not be a problem, will it?"

The ex-Boy Wonder pulled a fake smile onto his face and shook his head. "Of course not, Mr Schmitt, Artemis, Blue Beetle, Bumblebee, Guardian, Kid Flash, Robin and myself will be happy to attend the summit."

"Brilliant! I shall be seeing you tomorrow then. I shall forward you all the important details, but for now I must sign off. We are incredibly busy trying to get a hold of all you superheroes."

"Good luck." Nightwing feigned a realistic chuckle with ease. "Good bye for now."

"Goodbye, Nightwing."

When the video and audio connection turned off, the team began filing back through to the common room. Beast Boy let out a frustrated cry, obviously livid.

"Why the hell is it so hard to look up the evidence? I AM AMERICAN!"

Impulse rested a hand on his shoulder as Wonder Girl and Lagoon Boy exchanged a look.

"I know how you feel, chum, Atlantis is under America, in their waters! Surely that should account for something!"

"And we've fought life and limb for this country! We deserve to attend this summit!" Cassie cried out, her hands curling into fists, a sign she was desperate to punch something.

"We're all feeling rather moded here. How's about we all go out for a bit?" Impulse suggested.

"Better than being stuck in here." Garfield growled.

Artemis paused by the door into the common room and turned to watch the four younger team mates head to the zeta tubes. She let out a sigh, her eyes dropping to the ground.

"And this is only the beginning."

* * *

****On the off chance it's not obvious, I'm not American.****

****I was looking at hospital's in California for where Garfield could be born (I'm making up his birthplace because its not mentioned in the comics - as far as I'm aware) and I discovered the Garfield Medical Center and I just thought to myself 'Oh My God, YES!' I thought it would be a humorous little add.****

****In case you're wondering: Scilicet Ordo, Perfectio, Puritas is Latin for: Order, Perfection, Purity.****

****And the only reason I updated today is because I'm really bored. My wrist really isn't thanking me for it's constant use over the past few hours, but right now, I'm trying my best not to actually care.****

****Review?****


	3. Summit

It was freezing. Garfield had switched off the heating in his room the night before hand, as he did most nights. The cold room and the warm bed – it was weird but it helped him sleep. From the moment he had woken up he had been tempted to switch on his television, but ultimately, he had decided against it. He would rather not watch the news reports discussing the oh-so-important summit that half the hero community had not been invited to.

Upon arriving at the summit, Richard knew instantly amiss; and it was no longer just his team. From the moment the transmission from Schmitt had ended he had recognised the change in the team. He had not even seen Cassie or Garfield. Bart had barely spoken. La'gaan was incredibly angry and refused to talk to "_any of you pure bloods_". Both Kaldur and M'Gann seemed to be taking things relatively well. Wally, Jaime, Babs, Karen and Mal seemed to be worried for the others. Tim seemed far too withdrawn. And then there was Artemis. The only member's of Young Justice she had apparently actually spoken to, was Garfield and Kaldur. He had been informed by M'Gann, however, that the archer had been in contact with the Teen Titan's Mistress of Magic: Raven and chrome dome, aka Cyborg.

Most of the heroes invited to the summit had not turned up. The Teen Titans, Titans East and Young Justice seemed to be the only heroes there. There was himself, Batgirl, Artemis, Bumble Bee, Blue Beetle, Guardian, Kid Flash, Cyborg, Red Arrow, Robin, Hot Spot and both Halo and Metamorphis of the Outsiders were there, but that seemed to be it. His eyes scanned the room. Where was the Doom Patrol? The Shadow Fighters? The Sentinels of Magic? The Elite? The _Justice League_?

_Mas Y Menos and Tempest quit._

_Pantha left the country._

_So has Argent._

_Jericho decided to take Kole up on her offer for him to live with her and Gnarrk._

_Bushido refuses to have any contact with us._

He couldn't seem to wrap his head around it all. Leaving? Quitting? No contact? Why? It was just a stupid summit. Probably going to be uneventful and boring, like summits usually were. Why did they care that they weren't invited? And Jericho had left the country... He was American, what was his excuse?

"You just don't understand, do you?"

He looked down at Artemis. Her grey eyes were locked on the podium in the centre of the room. "I thought you were a detective, but here is me, able to see everything as clear as day, and its not even a blip in your mind." She shook her head. "I thought you had watched his campaigns. Obviously you're as dumb as the rest of them. But I'll tell you this, you better be prepared, because until you work it out, quite a few members of the team are going to start treating and looking at you in a very different way."

"Artemis, I don't... What the he-"

"Exactly." Her head had snapped up, a snarl on her olive face. Grey eyes narrowed through the slits in her cowl. "But you better start understanding, because you are going to start losing control and losing friends." She leaned closer, her voice dropping; sounding venomous. "Maybe that's the downside of being a bat – you're just as blind." She drew back and turned to stare at the podium once again. "Then again, Batman's not here. At least someone in your bat-family has some sense."

He felt offended, but then that was her point. She was trying to offend him. Trying to make him question himself. It worked to a degree. He wanted to know why he couldn't see what she did, what Garfield had. What even Victor had. But they all listened to Raven. Victor and Garfield had often commented on Raven being the most intelligent and observant person they knew. Gar had even stated that she_ is always right_. But her views were very biased and she came over as very single-minded, having no room for Duncan having any alternate motives.

She was wrong.

He looked at Bart before looking back at Cassie and La'Gaan. Cassie had a back pack slung over one shoulder while a box of her stuff was held tightly in her hands. Tears streamed down her face. La'Gaan carried only a box in one hand, while his other rested on Cassie's shoulder.

"...a-a-and t-tell B-Blue t-t-that I-I'll re-hally miss h-him..." Cassie sobbed.

"Will do. Promise to keep in touch, though, please?" Garfield looked at the ground and scuffed a foot across the ground. "I don't think we'll last long around here without you guys."

"Well chum, once you leave, you know how to contact either of us. Though if the others do come around-"

"Then we'll let you know immediately." Bart sucked in a deep breath. "I'm only sticking it out because I'd feel bad leaving BB here without some decent minded company. Not to mention, if the identity crisis escalates at all, Bart Allen is in as much danger and Impulse. Sticking it out here is my best option until BB and I can form a decent contingency plan."

"...Now, by the time we are done, all this vermin, all _these pests_ will be behind bars. They are criminals and they deserve to be treated like the monsters they are. I will give you all you need to apprehend these monsters. You will no longer be restricted to molly-coddling criminals. You will no longer face the hardships of being persecuted for heavy handed treatment of this vermin."

A cheer erupted throughout the crowd.

"Now finally, we move onto the topic of Supervillains. Today, I invited a number of Superhero teams to attend this summit – most importantly, the Justice League – but they have boycotted; refused to aid us in our attempts to clean up the streets of our country; to help erradicate our country of these superpowered monsters. Because that is what they are. Super-Powered Monsters."

The crowd remained silent, watching in anticipation.

"But we are not alone my friends, for today, the Teen Titans, Titans East, Young Justice and the Outsiders are here."

The cheers started back up again.

"Now, we shall hear a quick speech from Teen Titan and Young Justice leader, Nightwing, before we move on with the next part of our day..."

"So what do we tell him?"

Garfield looked up at Bart and shrugged. His heart heavy. He could hear the others arriving. M'Gaan and Kaldur were sat watching tv while the two boys were sat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. They had been in almost silence since Cassie and La'Gaan had left.

"I don't know. How are we supposed to break it to them that two members have quit because they- because they have the common decency to get out of the country before it all escalates?"

When he heard the rest of the team walk in, Gar's head snapped up. His damp green eyes taking in the sight before him. Artemis looked like she wanted to punch someone to death. Wally and Dick looked satisfied. Jaime, Karen and Mal looked exhausted. And Tim looked void of life.

Gar looked at the Boy Wonder curiously. His friend looked less like the Robin (and the Tim) he knew. He looked stressed and tired. He looked numb. As if he had been trying to empty himself so that Tim didn't have to deal with – Gar could swear his heart stopped for a second. When he had thought about who would be against Duncan and his regime, he had always assumed Tim would be on the same side as Dick. That the two bat-boys would share an opinion. But they didn't, and he had only just realised.

"Where's Cassie and La'Gaan? We have things to discuss." Nightwing looked up at Gar and Bart.

Gar turned to meet Bart's eyes. The speedster slowly nodded before turning to look up at the others, who had all turned to look at the two boys.

"Uhh... Look..." He ran a pale hand through his shaggy hair, a nervous, broken laugh slipping out of his lips.

Gar's heart hammered in his chest. A tear slid down his cheek as he tried to pull himself together enough to tell the others. "T-They..." He sucked in a deep breath. "They quit. They left a while ago. Tried to sneak out, but Bart and I caught 'em. The only thing they really said to us was that they couldn't be here any more and that they quit."

He thanked the heaven's for his acting abilities. The others didn't need to know that Bart helped them pack up their stuff. They didn't need to know that Gar had given them both his mobile number so they could still contact him. They didn't need to know the truth, because that would make things worse. Far, far worse.

And the truth was not that they couldn't stay, but they wouldn't. They wouldn't stay because their eyes had been opened. They couldn't fight for a country that didn't accept them to a summit that was for those who helped to eradicate crime. They couldn't remain under the threat of a man who was more power hungry than he let on. They couldn't stay to watch the rising tension between their friends. They had to leave.

And Gar wished he could have followed them.

"What do you mean they quit?" Nightwing demanded. "Why?"

"Why? Dude, we have no idea, they just did."

"Although, Cass did say to tell Blue she would miss him." Gar added. "They abruptly left after that. No goodbyes, no nothing."

Aqualad raised an eyebrow as he looked at the two younger teens. Gar almost shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He hated lying to his team, but things were hanging in the balance.

"That does not make sense, why would they leave so abruptly?"

Gar shrugged. "To spare themselves the bombardment of questions. If I was to quit, I would probably do the same thing. No way would I want you guys interrogating me."

Gar watched as Nightwing ran a hand through his hair as he clenched his teeth. "This is getting ridicules. First the Justice League, The Sentinels of Magic, The Shadow Fighters and the Elite boycott the summit. A large number of other heroes quit or leave b- but Cassie and La'Gaan? Why? Why would they just up and leave?"

"They had good reason! Being rejected to attend the summit and- I wouldn't want to subject myself to having Duncan as president. And yet I'm doing it anyway." Artemis stepped in, eyes narrowed.

Nightwing spun around to stare at Artemis. "Right, I've had just about enough of this!"

Garfield shrunk back and turned to look at Bart once more. His eyes betrayed his thoughts. He was think the same thing Gar was.

_Shit was hitting the fan._


	4. Targets

**Sol's Darkness: I don't think you will ever know just how happy you have made me for mentioning that! Yes, I am very well aware that Dick is Romani, and from a travelling circus. :) But remember that his adoptive father is the over-paranoid-over-protective Daddy-Bats! And being Daddy-Bats (in my opinion) he would probably have done all he could to make Dick (or at least Robin/Nightwing) a fully fledged American citizen (probably hacking servers ect to make it all 'real' and 'valid'). But that's not why I'm glad you mentioned it. Now, Dick and him being Romani is going to play a nice little part in a plot twist I've got organised. :D So, you've been warned. You can prepare yourself; for when the sh*t hits the fan, some very interesting and unexpected things are going to crop up. Mwahahaha. :D**

**Someone mentioned Traught. Well, I'm not so sure. The only pairing I've set my heart on at the moment will not even be a major part of the story. It'll be hinted at/implied/background and that is – drum roll please? WONDERBEETLE! I fell in love with the pairing after YJ #20 "And do not trust the Wonder Girl. She creates _Bio-Chemical Changes_ to your system."**

**jamesbane – I can promise that this story is not about a bunch of evil normal people after superpowered people for experiments/ect. It's about evil normal people doing what evil normal people do best – but if I stated what that was it would give away a major part of the plot. I'm not going to go into much detail about the politics because that would divert the story to an extent, after all, it's all about how the team cope with all the changes that are going on.**

* * *

As far as he was concerned Beast Boy and Garfield Logan were two very different people. Beast Boy was Garfield's mask. Beast Boy was the member of the Teen Titans and Young Justice that was nothing more than comic relief, often considered as the idiot of the teams. He was the one who almost always had a smile on his face. He would be a pest and would nag and nag until he got what he wanted. He read nothing but comics and wanted to do nothing but watch a good film or play the latest video games. But he was still observant, and good at listening. Good at following orders.

Garfield Logan was different. Garfield was vastly intelligent. He excelled in biology. He was brilliant at maths. He knew four different languages, with Swahili being his first language. He liked a good laugh, but knew when to draw the line. Garfield liked to spend his time reading and learning. Garfield was observant and had an incredibly fast mind. He was sensitive when it came to other peoples emotions. He, unlike Beast Boy, preferred to keep himself to himself. Garfield Logan had one flaw. A flaw that he would never allow Beast Boy to have. Garfield Logan simply could not follow orders.

And that was his biggest regret.

His mother died when he was eight years old. He spent the next two years with Rita and Steve. Most of that time was spent being on the Doom Patrol. When not on missions he was taught both French and German. He was also taught sign language and morse code. He was taught advanced level science and even how to hack his way through almost any computer. His adoptive parents wanted him to be able to hold his own. They wanted to make sure he had a brilliant mind. After all, he would be inheriting Dayton Industries.

When he was ten, he along with Robin, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire formed the Teen Titans. It was after he fled from the Doom Patrol. He moved into Titans Tower for the next two years. He found he had enjoyed it greatly. His friends had become his family. But after four years of having M'Gaan beg and beg, he could no longer say no. He moved into the Cave and joined the Team. He split his time between the Titans and Young Justice.

In all that time, he had successfully kept Beast Boy and Garfield separate. In all that time his mask had never failed him. But then, he had never been put into any situation that would make him want to give up his mask.

He had received a message from Raven, not two minutes before catching the end of a new report that absolutely terrified him. Artemis filled him in on what he had missed.

_Five senators killed. They claim that it was the Joker, Harley, Poison Ivy, Bane and Two Face._

Beast Boy felt his heart pound in his chest as he stared horrified at the blonde haired archer. "Adonis was killed." The words tumbled past his lips, but it was as if it was another person entirely that was speaking. "Apparently he was trying to escape from jail." His head sagged. "And that's not all. Jinx is on the list of people to be apprehended."

Jinx was the villain turned good guy. Brilliant friends with Wally West and girlfriend of Victor Stone. Nicole Diaz was actually a really brilliant girl who had not had the best start to life. Beast Boy was glad to call her a friend. She had been a formidable foe, an even better ally, and a fantastic friend. He had congratulated Victor on finding such a brilliant girl to be his girlfriend on numerous occasions.

Nicole did not deserve to be apprehended and he would be damned if he was going to let it happen.

"Have you seen seen Bart?"

* * *

The black aura dissipated and amethyst eyes scanned the abandoned lot. She was summoned, that much she knew. But she had no idea who it was that could have summoned her and her alone via her communicator without the others being alerted. The black energy surrounded her hands as she felt two familiar presences.

"I was hoping you would show up, Raven."

A cold chill ran down her spine as she slowly turned around. The energy around her hands vanishing, her eyes narrowing.

"What do you want, Deathstroke?"

The man walked towards her, followed closely by his painfully familiar companion. Her guard was up, she was more than just suspicious of the man in front of her and what it was that he could be planning.

"I believe we all have similar things on our minds. The assassinations. The death of Adonis. Even the fact that your dear friend Jinx is now a wanted criminal,despite her renouncing her life of villainy just over three years ago."

Raven squared her shoulders. "What information do you have on these matters?"

A dry chuckle left Slade Wilson's lips. "It was not the Gothamites that conducted the assassinations."

She rolled her eyes. "Because that wasn't obvious." Her tone dripped sarcasm.

"Be careful there, child. Before you know it, you are going to find yourself on the man's hit list too."

"Me? I think you're forgetting that the only criminals here are you two!"

"Do you think that will bother him?" Slade's companion spoke up. "In case you have momentarily forgotten he has placed an order for Jinx to be apprehended. But that is no longer an issue, as we speak she is being shipped out of the country to a safe house. As far as we aware our allies got to her moments before the others could."

"Terra has a point, Raven. Duncan has informants. We are unsure who they are, but be warned, he does have them. And he knows a lot. Like who your father really is. Like how you and your precious Titans and I have worked together. I, who happens to be a greatly wanted criminal. And you are not the only hero he will eventually come after. He wants a perfect country and he will eradicate whoever prevents him from that perfect image. A hero cannot possibly be the daughter of a demon. A hero cannot possibly have ever been a villain. A hero cannot be the child of a villain. A hero cannot have any ties to villainy. _None_."

"Your dads a interdimensional demon. Beast Boy and I were romantically linked. Artemis's whole family is or was villains. Impulse was a slave to the Reach. Blue Beetle was the Reaches Earthen Operative."

Ravens heart was pounding in her chest. She felt slightly sick. She was relieved to know Jinx was safe. She now understood why Adonis had been killed. And now she was scared. Because she knew Deathstroke and Terra were right. She knew that soon the Government would turn on the imperfect heroes and she was terrified. She had a back up plan. An emergency get go. A safe house she could flee too on the off chance the worst hit, but...

Terra held out her hands. Two black and bronze devices – that reminded her, slightly, of the Titans communicators – were held loosely in Terra's tan palms.

"Take 'em. One's for you and the others for BB. Chesh' is going to give Artemis two as well, one for the Archer and the other for Impulse."

Raven turned her gaze, fully, on to the blonde haired, blue eyed, geomancer. "Why? Why would I take these?"

"It is only a matter of time, Raven. A matter of time before you and your friends are declared enemies of the state. It is only a matter of time before the order is sent to your oh-so-precious leader, the oh-so-famous Nightwing. He will be ordered to kill or apprehend you's. And from the intel I've gotten, I do not doubt that if the moment is chosen correctly, he will do as requested." Deathstroke eyed her carefully.

"You're wrong. We don't kill. We won't kill. And just because we disagree on certain things does not mean-"

"Do you not remember the Beast incident? How he was so willing to arrest Beast Boy. Willing to arrest a so called team mate and friend based on technicalities."

Raven dropped her head. "He wouldn't."

"If I were you I would take the communicators. You might find that they come in handy. We have a common enemy, Rae. One that needs to be stopped. These communicators are next to untraceable – for the time being. I would also recommend setting up a safe house or two, just on the off-"

Raven snatched the communicators out of Terra's hands. "Are we done here?"

* * *

She sat drinking her cappuccino. She was sat at the back of the coffee shop. A rucksack sat by her chair leg. A notepad sat in front of her. She had been tapping her pen on the table for a good five minutes by the time another mug was placed on the table. The chair opposite her being pulled out as another person sat down.

"Do you know just how annoying that is, sister?"

Artemis looked up to see Jade sat opposite her. A cap pulled down low over her sisters eyes. She understood. Cheshire was wanted by the government.

"What are you doing here?" Artemis asked lowly, her worry almost completely hidden by the anger in her tone. When she worried, she got angry, she couldn't explain why, it just happened.

"I'm saying goodbye for now, little sister. But don't worry, it won't be the last time you see me."

Artemis felt a pang of sadness. As much as she wanted Jade to leave the country, so that she could be safe, she didn't want to lose her sister a second time. It was only when she lowered her head to hide the tears forming in her eyes that she noticed two black and gold communicators sat in front of her. She quickly picked them up and hid them in her pockets.

"What are those?" She asked.

"One is for you. The other is for your time-travelling, could-possibly-be-erased-from-history-at-any-time, speedster. You are as enlightened as many of us Artemis. We are branching out. Recruiting those we know are sensible to take precautions. Sensible enough to be aware of what is really occuring. We are trying to gain allies with those we know will eventually be declared enemies of the state. You are my sister, as I have said before, I do not actually want you dead."

Artemis let out a sigh. "So, what, this is a team up with the Light in order to prevent annihilation, thing?"

Jade laughed and shook her head. "Oh no sister. When the time comes for you to discover who we are, you will find yourself very much surprised as to who is amongst us. Very surprised indeed." Jade took a sip of her coffee. "Now, is it safe for me to assume that you still have that safe house in Britain?"

Artemis nodded. "Yes. I still have that safe house. I also have another. But the location of that will remain a secret from everyone. After all, I will need maximum safety, should this blow up in the way we expect it to. Not to mention, I don't ever recall you telling me the location of your safe house."

* * *

**I finally have most of this story figured out. **

**I know who - ultimately - the fic is going to revolve around. **

**I know who's on what side.**

**I know who is on what team.**

**I have a rough pairings idea.**

**I know what twists I'm putting in.**

**And the ending has already formed in my head.**

**I'm getting excited writing this, so I hope y'all are enjoying reading it.**


	5. Romani

**So its been a while since I've updated, so I wrote an even longer chapter to make up for it. I've been busy with exam preparation, and wrist issues. So hopefully this makes up for my absence. :) Enjoy and maybe even review. :)**

* * *

Raven sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the communicator Terra had given her. It contained six contacts, Slade Wilson, Tara Markov, Artemis Crock, Garfield Logan and Bartholomew Allen. She wrinkled her nose in mild amusement. She had not realised that Bart had actually been short for something. She tapped her left foot impatiently, wondering what to make of Slade and Tara's offer.

What had had said to her was true; they shared a common enemy. She had not yet told anyone about her encounter with the two. She had considered telling Beast Boy, but decided to wait a while, she had not seen him since meeting Slade and Tara and so she would wait until they next saw one another.

The one thing that bothered her was the one possibility that remained, as unlikely as it was, that Duncan really was just a try-hard and his party would lose control of both houses in just two years.

And yet, she didn't believe it for a second. She thought about Tara's suggestion of setting up a safe house. What Tara, and none of her team mates or friends knew was that she already had such a place. It was a three bedroomed, third floor apartment in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was titled under an alias created specifically for an emergency: Rachel Roth. She would occasionally, teleport to it while her team mates slept, and would perform some housekeeping and would restock the pantry when she was there.

She purchased the apartment shortly after their first major battle against the Brotherhood. After all the Titan's had been separated and targeted. She was paranoid something like that may happen again, and she wanted to be prepared. The Brotherhood 'incident' had resulted in a lot of changes to the Titans. It had been the first time she had really questioned their unquestionable leader, Robin. Surprisingly, it had been Beast Boy to take over as leader, and he had demonstrated more skill than Robin had in executing a good plan. It had made her wonder if their leader was the right person.

But Beast Boy didn't want leadership. And with Dick in charge, she was capable of slipping away in the middle of the night, or occasionally at weekends, to check up on her safe house. For a detective, he was rather oblivious. But it worked in her favour.

* * *

Bart, Garfield and Victor were playing the newest Gears of War game on the XBox. It had been a relatively quiet week, and so Bart and Gar had decided they could take the day and venture over to Titans Tower. It had been a few weeks since he had joined his other team; M'Gaan had been keeping him abnormally close. He was worried she had ventured into his head to discover what was up with him, but he knew what it felt like when she was in his head, and the only time she had been inside his mind was when they had been on missions.

Over the past six weeks they had apprehended Mumbo, Johnny Rancid, Poison Ivy, the Riddler and Mad Mod, but not in the act of committing a crime. The Justice Department had issued warrant for their arrest as well as for all of the usual criminals the Titans or Young Justice had 'brawled' with over the years. The five of them had the misfortune of being captured and handed over to the CIA. The Riddler, Johnny Rancid and Mad Mod all suffered the same fate as Adonis: It was reported that each, in a separate incident, had attempted to escape and were killed in the attempt.

Mad Mod was the last one to die, only three days previously, and after that, any of the Young Justice or Teen Titans remaining supervillains seemingly vanished. The rumour spreading around was that they were fleeing the country.

After two hours of playing the game ended the way it almost always did, with Victor emerging as victorious. The normal post-game banter was abnormally absent and all three young men placed their game controllers on the coffee table, no longer wanting to play. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Victor?"

"Yeah, B?"

The young changeling hesitated before asking a question he felt really ought to be asked. He had spoken about it with Bart and Artemis. When he had been talking to Raven over the phone it had been brought up. But he really wanted to know Cyborg's opinion.

"Do you think they were really trying to escape?"

Victor turned to look at him, a raised eyebrow. He shrugged his shoulders. "It's what they always do, is it not?"

Garfield shrugged and shook his head. "If that's the case, then why would all the other villains be fleeing the country?"

Victor rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips. "Cos, grass stain, they know we'll kick their backsides into next century."

Gar internally sighed. He wasn't sure if Victor really was as oblivious as he was appearing to be, or if he was in denial, or if he just did not want to discuss it seriously. But that didn't stop Gar. He wanted to know Victor's genuine opinion. He needed to know what one of his oldest, and closest friends truly thought about the situation.

"I'm serious, Cyborg." Gar looked up at him, his eyes tightening slightly. "Something is really, really wrong here. And I don't like it."

The cybernetic Titan snorted derisively. "You really hafta stop listening to Raven."

He almost growled out in frustration. His opinion had nothing to do with Raven. So what? They shared an opinion. If anything, that should clue the others in. Since when had he and Raven ever fully agreed on anything? Yet people seemed to be dismissing it, and it was getting on his nerves. He was his own person, with his own opinion.

"I think she's right." And yet he fuelled the fire anyway.

Cyborg's demeanor quickly changed, becoming more serious. "Yeah, so I've realised."

Gar stood up and began to pace around the common room, fidgeting nervously with his fingers. He was aware that both Bart (who had been surprisingly quiet, but quiet seemed to have become his new normal) and Victor were watching him.

"I do though. I really believe that Raven is right. She's always right." He met Victors eyes. "She's good at all this pred-" He cut himself off.

He had never thought about it like that. A prediction. Raven was a sorceress, and not one person on the Teen Titans knew the full extent of her abilities. She had claimed that she, herself, did not know the full extent to her abilities. He remembered when he discovered she was actually an empath and could feel emotions. It was possible that she had the ability of precognition.

"Oh." It came out as barely a whisper. "I need to talk to Raven." He moved to walk out of the room.

A mischievous grin spread across Victor's face. "Oh, I think I understand. Our fellow green-bean has a crush of Rae!"

"What!"

Bart began sniggering. "Oh, that makes plenty of sense." The speedster ran a hand through his hair. "Garfield and Raven sitting in a tree..."

"BART!"

Bart grinned up, his yellow eyes twinkling mischievously. "Sorry man, couldn't resist."

"You of all people should know that I'm being serious."

Bart nodded. "I know. I know. I just couldn't resist the opportunity to crash the mode. It's been a while..."

Gar's eyes locked on his futuristic friend. _Crash the mode._ He couldn't actually remember the last time he had heard Bart say that.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Victor beat him to the punch. "Look, B. I know you're being serious, and I know you don't have a crush on Rae, but _nothing_ is going on. It's all in your head man."

"Nothing is going on? NOTHING? Adonis, Mad Mod, Johnny Rancid, the Riddler and _more_ have been killed." Gar ran a hand through his hair. "They keep killing Villains. Ra's Al Ghul was killed not too long ago... "

"Gar, I know. And they knew the law. Try to escape and you'll die. And anyway why the hell are you so upset? In case you're forgetting, these guys have tried to kill us on more than one occasion. Okay, so maybe I've never fought Ra's, and technically he's never tried to kill the Titans but... My point still stands the same."

Gar clenched his fists. "I'm not buying it, Cy, not for a moment!"

He was surprised when Bart cut in. "Cy... What about Nicole? What if they caught her? What if she was shot? Would you still say-"

"She wouldn't tr-"

Before Victor could finish speaking the Tower alarm went off. Nightwing, Starfire, Raven and Robin ran into the common room. Cyborg was up and across the room. He cut the alarm off and he began fiddling with the screen's keyboard.

"What is it?" Nightwing asked.

Cyborg finished with the keyboard, hitting the enter key and a warehouse appeared on the giant screen.

"Gizmo, See-More, Icicle Jr and Whisper A'Daire. They're hiding out in this warehouse, it has a passage that leads down to the sea. The police believe they are trying to flee the country and so they want us to go in."

"So we have to take them out?" Raven asked in her typical monotone.

"I believe that our friend Cyborg meant that we are to so the apprehending."

Raven kept her face emotionless. Her eyes remained focused on Cyborg. "Why are we pursuing them? They haven't committed a single crime since before Duncan became president. I had believed them to have already left the country."

"The president has issued an order for their arrest." Nightwing snapped.

Gar tried not to flinch. Dick's behaviour had continued to get worse as time went by. And Gar would admit, it scared him. It scared him to see someone who had been his friend since he was eight to change so dramatically.

Raven folded her arms. "Oh,pardon me, I had momentarily forgotten about him signing legislation that gave him that power. Even though it's illegal. I forgot that all his precious lackies made sure it was all perfectly okay for him to do so as well."

Nightwing turned to glare at Raven. Anger written across his face. "Our job is not to create, make or interpret laws. Our job is to _ENFORCE_ them. Do you understand? We don't question the orders, we follow them!""

Her face hardened, and the look in her eye scared Gar. "_I understand **perfectly**, boy blunder_." The tone in her voice, the pure, unbridled betrayal and anger cut into Garfield.

Nightwing took a few steps forward, his lips turned up into a snarl. "That. Is. IT! You Are Staying Here."

"I'll do no such thing."

"Yes. Yes You Bloody Well WILL. Bart will come and take your place. You are staying her or I wi-"

"_You'll Do What_? Arrest me? Apprehend me? Hand me in to the CIA? Give me straight to Duncan? Hand me in so I can become another prisoner forced into wearing an inhibitor collar. Another prisoner who's shot down while making some shitty attempt to escape?"

Nightwing glared, grinding his teeth together. Starfire settled onto the ground next to him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

"We don't have time to waste." He snarled. "You can come with us, but this conversation is _not_ over."

Gar heaved out a sigh as he shot Raven a worried look. It had almost come to a full out fight.

"Fine. Let's go." She responded in an ice cold monotone.

Nightwing looked over to Bart. "You're still coming with us, Impulse."

* * *

The six Titans and Impulse arrived at the location of the warehouse. The location had been implanted into the Titan communicators. They had entered the building and the smell and sight of it instantly mad Gar feel ill.

"They're hiding in here? It's disgusting." He whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

"Exactly. If you didn't want to be found, is there any better place to hide?" Raven whispered in reply.

Robin put away a pair of collapsible binoculers. "I can't see anything, they must be deep inside … Raven, can you get us further in?"

She nodded her head.

Nightwing spoke up "Good. OK team, we need to be as quiet as we possibly can. We must catch them off guard. We know what they're like, they're going to do everything in their power to avoid capture, and we can't afford it. Once we're inside we'll split up, if you find them, you signal the rest of us silently using your communicator. Ready?"

One by one they whispered yes, after which Nightwing nodded at Raven. She raised her arms and her signature black energy appeared and engulfed them. They all felt the familiar, 'creepy' chill of Raven's dark energy, and they slowly materialized into the warehouses basement.

Without saying a word they split up. Raven phased through a wall to the right. Starfire silently glided away, gaining speed until she had vanished down a hallway. Beast Boy motioned to Bart before he morphed into a a bloodhound and took off in the opposite direction while Robin and Nightwing silently ran down a flight of stairs. Cyborg stayed put, using his sensors to probe the interior of the building.

Five minutes quickly passed. They had all covered a lot of ground. Finally it was Robin who found them in what was left of a boiler room. He could only see Icicle Jr at first, but as he poked his head further into the room, he spotted See-More, Gizmo and Whisper.

"Gizmo, you did say they would come back for us, right?" See-More's voice failed to hide the fear that was evident in his eye..

"I said they would, now shut up!"

See-More dropped his head, dejectedly. "Why didn't they wait for us? I mean, they could have waited for us."

"Because we were late, you idiot! Would you have waited? No, you wouldn't have."

"None of us would have." Whisper cut in. "It's everyone for themselves."

"I wonder how many people have actually gotten out? I mean, it's not safe here any more. It- I never thought I would regret anything I've done as much as I do just now." Icicle Jr muttered.

See-More nodded. His gaze landing on his younger comrade. "I don't want to go to jail… I... I can't go to jail."

"Pah." Gizmo shook his head. "It's not jail you have a problem with, snot-brain."

"You, like the rest of us, just don't want to die." Whisper murmered.

See-More let out a pathetic whimper and wrapped his arms around his torso.

Robin glanced down at the communicator in his hand, before he looked back up at the villains. His thumb ran across the button to send the signal to the others. Taking in a deep breath he took a few steps back and shook his head. He was about to turn around, walk away and tuck his communicator into its place in his utility belt, when Starfire appeared next to him.

"I have done the summoning of the others."

His heart sank.

Within a matter of seconds, Raven had phased out of the ground. Impulse came to a halt and Beast Boy leapt off his back. Nightwing and Cyborg arrived together only a few seconds after Bart and Gar. Starfire whispered her full report to her team mates. Nightwing peered into the boiler room, assessing the situation before:

"Titans, Go!"

The seven teens charged into the engine room.

Not one of the four villains made a move. They just sat on the floor, their heads turned towards the seven heroes. Pain, fear and regret evident in each of their eyes.

"Please Nightwing, please, don't arrest us! We're leaving tonight. Please, just let us leave!" The desperation in See-More's voice made Robin's stomach churn.

Nightwing moved towards the group. "We can't do that. The law says..."

See-More began shaking his head. Gizmo awkwardly rested a hand on his shoulder while Whisper and Icicle Jr scooted backwards from Nightwind.

Nightwing shook his head, a confused smile on his face. "Why are you so afraid, you've been in and out of jail constantly for years."

"Are you really that clueless, pitsniffer?" Gizmo shouted. Scrambling to his feet. "Seriously?"

"What are you meaning, Gizmo?" Starfire asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"You mean you don't know? Ugh, of course you don't know."

"What don't we know?"Cyborg demanded.

"No one gets out alive!" Icicle Jr cried out.

"Then maybe you shouldn't try to escape." Nightwing snarled.

"You really don't get it. No one tries to escape. None of 'em. They were murdered! Cold blooded murder." Gizmo retorted, a wild eyed look on his face.

"Murdered? Oh please."

Raven leaned towards Nightwing. "Gizmo has always been easy to get a read on. He's not lying. He is telling the truth."

Robin frowned. His eyes focusing on the boy. Raven was right. She was always right. He could tell just by looking at the villain that he was telling the truth.

The raven haired boy took a few steps forward. "And how, exactly, do you know this, Gizmo?"

"Through me." Whisper replied, getting to her feet. She tucked a strand of red hair behind an ear.

"What?" Nightwing stared disbelievingly. "I know Cyborg said it was you but... We haven't been told..."

"Of course not." She scoffed slightly. "Why would they admit that somebody got out? They don't need the bad press. But the fact is, I did get out. I escaped. And while I was escaping, I witnessed the death of the Riddler. He was dragged out of his cell and out into the courtyard. A firing squad was already out there. They told him to run. He refused. They fired a warning shot and he took off. They killed him. I never liked the guy, but I still wish I could have done something. Taken him with me so that he would get a chance to live a better life. Because that's why we're here to get out of the country and lead a better life."

"So what are you still doing here.?"

"We were late!" Gizmo growled. "A whole minute late. And now we have to wait until midnight before we can get out of here."

"'Wing, See-More is terrified." Raven whispered to him. "They all are. I- I believe they are telling us the truth."

"I agree, friend Nightwing. Perhaps we should allow them to escape the country."

Nightwing spun around to look at the Tamaranian Princess. "Starfire, you can't be serious!"

"I agree with Starfire." Robin interrupted. "I- I think we ought to do a bit more investigating before we arrest anybody else."

"You won't find anything. Unless you're willing to go into the jails and ask the criminals." Whisper cut in.

"You expect me to believe a criminal over the police?" Nightwing snarled as he glared down at Robin.

The room fell silent as Robin took a step back from his older 'brother'.

"Nightwing." Whisper cut in, taking a step forward. "You claim you're a hero. Do you even remember the definition of that word? A hero is 'A man or women willing to sacrifice themselves to help others without the consideration of there own safety.' If you were half the hero you claim to be, then you would help us get to safety."

"Dude, you're pretty outnumbered." Beast Boy muttered as he looked at Nightwing. "Impulse, Robin, Starfire and Raven are all for letting these guys go. You wanna apprehend them, go for it. We're not helping."

Nightwing growled in frustration. "Fine!" He let out a sigh. "I really cannot believe I'm actually doing this." And he turned on his heel and walked out.

Robin turned to the four exvillains. "You have until tomorrow morning to get out of here and I promise you that I'll be watching. Don't ever think about coming back, because you'll get thrown into jail the moment you step foot into the country. No matter where you go, you can't commit any crimes because you will most likely get extradited back. Understood?" He gave a small sigh. "I don't necessarily like _any_ of you. But that doesn't mean I want you dead."

And he didn't. He wasn't a criminal. And he certainly wasn't a killer. And despite the fact they were villains. They didn't necessarily deserve to die. The looks in their eyes prove everything to him. They were not beyond redemption.

The two villains nodded their understanding. And the rest of the Titans began to follow Nightwing, who had yelled for Robin.

A small voice caught Robin's attention for a moment though. A voice that made both he and Garfield hang back.

"Beast Boy, Robin..." It was See-More. "We- we thank you. I won't ever forget this. And don't worry. I don't plan on committing any more crimes."

"Good." It was Garfield who responded, and at the same time Dick's voice could be heard echoing down the hallway.

"_ROBIN_!"

* * *

Artemis was sat in the living room of her Gotham apartment. It was lonely without her mom, but it was for the best. Her dad had whisked her mom away before anything bad could happen to the ex-villainess. Artemis usually liked being alone. But it suddenly scared her. There was no family nearby to assist her should anyone come for her. She, Dick and Barbara were hardly on the best of terms. She didn't know Robin all too well. And Batman had gone missing the day Duncan got into power.

She had been eating dinner, with the news on the television when she heard a faint knock at her door. Her heart had began to beat wildly in her chest as paranoia took over. But she was able to keep her exterior relatively calm.

She made her way out into the hall, grabbing her miniature, collapsible crossbow and a few darts off the desk by the door. There was a second, more panicked knock. It spiked her curiosity, but didn't quell her fear. She unlocked the door, and took a deep breath before opening it.

She dropped the crossbow in surprise.

Stood at her front door, with a backpack slung over his shoulder, dressed in civvies with a panicked look on his faces was the teams newest Boy Wonder.

"Robin?"

"Tim."

Her eyes widened as he took off his sunglasses. "Please, Artemis. I know you're living alone at the moment, and I really don't have anywhere else to go. Well, technically I could go to the Cave, or Titan's Tower, b-but..."

"Come in." She moved out the way and he slipped in, taking a quick glance behind him before she shut the door.

She got him settled in the living room with a cup of coffee, the news switched off. In all the time she had known the boy, she had never known him to be nervous. Out of the three Robin's it had been he who was the most calm and collected.

"So, um, what happened?" She asked quietly.

"I- We were on a mission to apprehend some villains... And Dick... he's been acting off for a while now... And I've tried. I've really, really tried.." He ran a hand through his hair.

She was surprised to see how torn up the sixteen year old was. She was angry at Dick, for a reason she didn't quite know yet, because his younger brother was hurt. Really hurt. The tears, fear and betrayal in his eyes were evidence of that. And Artemis herself couldn't help but feel some form of betrayal from whatever it was that had occurred.

"I- I think something is wrong. Really, really wrong. Not just with this whole Duncan thing. But with Dick as well. And whatever is happening, it's not good." He shook his head. "I mean, Dick – all his involvement, I just don't understand..."

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Dick is Romani, Artemis." Tim met her eyes. "He's not American. And yet look at how involved he is in all of this. An all American summit, and he's invited? Sure, I figured Batman would have gotten him a green card, and verified his citizenship and what not... But Garfield wasn't allowed to the summit, and neither was Bart. But Dick?"

She knew there was a lot she hadn't known about Dick Grayson. Like his backstory. She knew whatever he allowed her to know. And so him not being American shouldn't have come as such a surprise. But with the circumstances...

"I'm scared Artemis. No. I'm not. For the first time in my life, I'm petrified."


	6. Brotherhood

**The Official and full summery:**

**When a new government is put in place, Young Justice faces their toughest challenge yet. As the weeks go by the line between being a hero and a villain begin to blur. Each hero is put to the test as they must chose a side. Do they follow along with the new regime? Do they go into hiding? Do they quit? Do they leave? Or do they rebel? It's down to each of them to make their own choice. For some, they return to their civilian lives. For others, they chose to follow the new regime; but by following Duncan's orders they are choosing a path they have spent years fighting against. And others they rebel; but by doing so, they could lose everything and everyone. **

**They each have the same choice to make?**

**Who are they really?**

**Heroes?**

**Or Villains?**

**And the choice of fighting for Duncan, and fighting against him is asking each hero whether they want to oppress those they have fought for, or die trying to save them.**

**And Duncan winning the election, is only the beginning. War is brewing and heroes and villains alike will be thrown into a situation they could never have been prepared for. In a world where enemies become friends and friends become enemies, the super-human community must stand up and fight the one battle they have never dreamed of.**

* * *

Arriving back at the tower, Raven took the chance she had been waiting for. She had no idea how long Beast Boy and Impulse would be around for and so she had to act quickly.

"Garfield. We need to talk, can you come with me."

He nodded and complied, following after her. It had become more of a habit over the years. Out of all the Titans, he was the only one that was actually allowed in her room on a regular basis. Then again, it could hardly be counted as a regular basis is he was never there. They entered her room, the door hissing behind them. He sat precariously on the end of her bed.

"I've never smelt so much fear rolling off of a villain before." He said quietly. He stared blankly at the wall. "Part of me doesn't want to believe what Whisper said... But I do. I know it's true, not because of what's been said or because of evidence – because there is none – but because deep down, I just know."

Raven sat down next to him. "I know how you feel, Gar. And it scares me, because when they no longer have super villains to hunt out..."

His head snapped up, his eyes locking on her face."Are you implying th-"

"Yes, when all the super villains are gone, we'll be the next target. The next major threat."

"I can't say that thought hasn't entered my head. I can't say that it hasn't been in Artemis's either, 'cause we've discussed it." He let out a strained sigh. "So, what do we do?"

"In the long term? I really don't know. In the short term? We need to be prepared. We have to be ready to leave at a moments notice."

His gaze dropped to the floor. "When- How long do you think we have?"

Raven gave a small shrug of her shoulders, before tentatively taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.. "I don't know. But I'm going to be ready. And I think you should be too. We make a good team Garfield. And I'd rather not leave without you."

His hand tightened around hers momentarily. "Pfft, I could hardly let my friend run off into the blue by herself. What kind of a friend would that make me?"

He had a jokey smile on his face but on the inside he felt torn; mentally answering his own question.

_The same friend who was too chicken to leave with Cassie and L'Gaan.  
The same friend who's too chicken to properly stand up to Dick.  
The same friend who's made so many fuck ups that you're surprised you're still friends with some of these people._

She gave him a tight smile "True. But, um, Garfield… please don't tell the others about this; not Cyborg, not Robin, not Star and by Azar, please do not tell Nightwing."

He nodded his head in understanding before giving an indignant snort. "Why would I tell 'Wing? He'd probably turn us in." He took in a deep breath. "Is there anything I can do?"

She released his hand, and stood up. "Actually there is…" She moved over to her bedside table and opened up the top drawer. She took something out before shutting the drawer and walking back to him. "Now... I need you to keep an open mind. Please?"

He raised an eyebrow but nodded anyway. "Okay.."

"A few weeks ago, I was summoned to an abandoned lot, I met two people there that I had assumed I was never going to cross paths with again." She took in a deep breath as she sat back down. "I have not agreed to any alliance, because that would be premature and rather stupid. But I reluctantly agreed to take what they offered me. As far as I'm aware,there is a large number of people in the super-human community that have joined this alliance. Both heroes, and villains."

She held out her hand and in it was a black and bronze communicator. He eyed it warily, taking it out of her hand, before meeting her eye. "Who were the people who gave you this?"

She shifted nervously. "Deathstroke and Terra. And they gave me two. One for me, and one for you." Her gaze dropped to the ground. She opened her mouth to speak again.

"Deathstroke and Terra... Slade and Tara." He stood up, his fingers curling tightly around the communicator. He spun around to look down at her. "T_hat's who gave you this_? THESE? You know any form of communication with them could dub you a traitor!"

She stood up and ripped it out of his hand. "And you could be dubbed a traitor too if you accept this!" She narrowed her eyes. "I asked you to keep an open mind! You should take a look at your contacts!"

She flipped the communicator open and pressed a button before turning it around to show him.

"Is tha- STEVE?"

"And Bart. And Artemis. And Me. And Rita. And C-"

"I get it." He snatched the communicator out of her hand. He leaned towards her slightly. "You really are serious about this, aren't you?"

She bowed her head slightly. "I want – no – have, to be prepared."

"Then... Count me in."

* * *

Garfield had began spending more and more time at the Cave with Young Justice, than at Titan's Tower, for one reason and one reason only. Dick was spending almost all of his time at Titan's Tower as was Batgirl. It was obvious that Dick wanted to keep an eye on Raven and rumour had it, he and Tim had a massive blow out**.**

Garfield was pretty sure he knew what that had been all about. And he felt terrible about it. He had wanted to spend time with his non-meta friend so that he could support him, but he hadn't seen Tim since they had let the four villains escape. It also had not escaped him, that he had not seen Artemis either.

He had been spending almost all of his time with Bart. The two disscussing contingency plans, and the fact that Bart was to go with Artemis when the time came – he (other than possibly Tim) was the only other person to know where Artemis's safe house was – they would leave. Just like Gar would do with Raven.

Raven, had actually begun spending time at the Cave. Asking Gar if she could visit, because she couldn't stand being near Dick and Bab's. Their friendship was falling apart. Arguments coming from nowhere, and it was putting everyone else on the team on edge. Exactly why Gar was happy he had the Cave to retreat to. Of course, at the Cave, he had to deal with a relatively clingy 'blood-sister'. But other than that, he felt it was a much better place to be.

He had noticed that Raven seemed to get along well with the members of the Young Justice. He was tempted to ask Aqualad to let her join the team, but he figured that if they were going to be leaving at any time,it would be redundant. Raven would, reluctantly, help M'Gaan cook, and also introduced the Martian to the world of herbal tea – Gar isn't sure whether he'll forgive Raven for that – the half Demon enjoyed helping Connor with mechanics. She liked comparing different form of literature with Aqualad, or counselling Jaime if he and the Scarab got into an argument.

Meanwhile Duncan's popularity continued to soar. Every other day there would be a new speech on TV which most of the team would watch. Gar and Bart, however, would generally make themselves scarce, not wanting to listen to any more bullshit. If anything important came up, Raven would relay it to them anyway.

Thankfully, over the past month and a half Duncan had been focusing more on his economic and health policies which would increase employment and reduce (to an extremity) reliance on foreign imports. Still, none of it would ease the pit of dread in his stomach. The feeling of the calm before the storm. It was a similar feeling to what he knew Bart, Raven and even Connor were experiencing.

When the two boys decided to go and grab some lunch, half an hour after the knew the schedualed Duncan speech would have been on, they were greeted by an unexpected sight. M'Gaan, Connor, Kaldur and Mal were all staring at the screen, each of them looked pale with shock. Raven turned her head, making eye contact with the two boys, and from the look on her face, what ever had occurred on the screen had both horrified and terrified her.

Garfield looked at the screen as he heard Bart gasp. A giant crater had completely dominated the wide TV screen. His eyes locked on the headline at the top of the screen and he could help but utter just one word.

"Bullshit."

"Brotherhood of Evil destroys Richmond, Virginia."

Garfield knew the Brotherhood. He had been fighting them for most of his Superhero life. Just one look at the crater and he knew. It had not been them.

He felt sick. His stomach was in knots and he could feel it churning. One arm wrapped around his torso as he stared at the screen in horror. He could barely hear what the reporter was saying.

"At 12:38 local time the Brotherhood of Evil – Smuggled down town - radius of total destruction was 26 miles - crater - 5 miles deep - believed - everyone within a 30 mile radius died - At this point - believed - as many as 4 and a half million - cowardly - unprovoked attack."

Garfield's head was spinning.

"No." He whispered.

He felt awful. He felt sick. His stomach felt as if it was bubbling. And then it hit him – somewhat literally. The shock impact had hit Raven and she couldn't control it. Everyone in the room was feeling – a minor version – of what she could feel. He struggled to move across the room towards the couch.

"Rae- _Raven_!"

He began to feel better after he had reached her. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she looked as sick as he had felt. She was sucking in air, as if she was hyperventilating. He rested a hand on her shoulder; worried. She was trying to regain control, which she had accomplished to an extent. He still felt relatively dizzy, but he no longer felt sick, and his senses came back to him.

"… the Congress and Senate have granted special temporary emergency powers to the President. Effective immediately the entire nation is under martial law and a 24 curfew is immediately in effect until further notice. The President has already ordered men to get in touch with any superhero who has dealt with the Brotherhood previously."

It didn't hit him as hard as he had expected it to. And when Raven eye's opened and they met his, he knew it hadn't quite hit her as hard as she had expected it too either.

The two of them were thinking the exact same thing.

Duncan had been given emergency powers, powers he would never, ever relinquish.

And that could only mean one thing.

It was over.

Duncan now had absolute authority and power.

He was now the nation's dictator.

* * *

He had contacted her first.

It was a week after all the Titans and Young Justice had been summoned to the White House (although not everyone had turned up). Duncan had grilled them and given them orders. They were not going to be tasked with any new jobs until the had found and captured the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood had to be stopped, for what they had done.

And like Bart, Garfield, Connor and Jaime she was not convinced but she had no choice (at that time) to say no. Her relationship with Dick was strained enough. She didn't want to push any further.

She had slept at Titans Tower for the first time in a while, and so when she had awoken to an odd buzzing she was confused. Her alarm had not been set in a long time. Of course,when she awoke, she discovered it was well past eleven in the morning. She also discovered that the buzzing came from the bronze and black communicator.

Slade had contacted her.

He had wanted to talk about the Richmond incident. And he confirmed all she needed to know. It had been the government that executed the destruction of a city. Not the Brotherhood. In fact, the Brotherhood were not even in the country. Of course, she wanted to ask Slade just who his sources were, but she decided against it. A small part of her, really, did not want to know.

"They were trying to prove a point... Meta's are dangerous- Villains are dangerous, and with superheroes following false leads they will either come across as incompetant or it'll look like they are assisting the villains which gives Duncan the excuse to go after the Titans and Young Justice."

"Precisely. And he's executed it perfectly. Just as the populace have adjusted to him, he has upped the ante. The people have all but begged him to become the nations temporary dictator. And if you assumed things were bad before, with prisoners being murdered and civil liberties curtailed, it's only going to get so much worse. In fact, my sources have informed me that your dear Garfield shall be receiving a rather unpleasant surprise today."

"What! They wouldn't arrest him! They couldn't! On what charges could they possibly arrest him?"

Slade chuckled darkly. "Charges? They have no need to accuse him of anything! Have you forgotten that the Habeas Corpus has been suspended? They can detain whoever they want, whenever they want, for as long as they want, for any reason that they want. But there is no need to worry Raven; they aren't coming for him, at least, not_ yet_."

"Then what? What is it?" She snarled.

"You'll have find out. Hmm, contact me again tonight. Let's say at midnight, your time. We can talk all about it then."

"No Slade, tell me right _now_."

His laughter was not very reassuring."To be honest Raven, I am uncertain myself. All I know is that the State Department sent him a package that should arrive at some point today, if not already. You should hurry Raven, you might miss it. And of course,it might be better if it was you who gave him it. Having your precious Nightwing summon him for it may be a bad idea."

The video connection was cut as Slade uttered his final words "Remember, Midnight tonight, and bring Garfield, I would like us all to have a little talk. Now, I believe you have a package to deliver."


	7. Dear Mr Logan

_**Sol's Darkness**_ – **Yes, it's probably going to be slightly painful to the heart. Especially when it gets further in. :/ Thankfully you've survived. I'd feel bad if it had killed you, haha. :)**

_**star-eye**_ – **Thank you! I'm trying to update as often as possible with this particular fic. I have so much inspiration at the moment! And due to it being the school holidays (and then I have seven days before study leave – then I only have 3 exams before I'm out of education until uni starts in September) so I should be updating quite a bit. :)**

_**Anon**_ – **WOW... You wrote quite a lot, haha, you've given me quite a bit to think about. And I have to say I agree with quite a bit of it. Some of what you've mentioned is going to be involved in the fic, particularly the position of heroes, and their treatment of civilians and villains, etc. Like with what occurred with Gizmo, Whisper, See-More and Icicle Jr. Whisper already clarified the definition of hero, and that is going to play a part in further chapters.**

_**Hyper-Blossom Z**_ \- **Yeah, assassinating Duncan would be way too easy, and this wouldn't be much of a fic, haha. You'll find out what Gar's getting in the chapter. And you'll just have to continue reading to find out why Dick is acting so, unlike Dick. :) Mwahahahaaa.**

* * *

It had been a relatively normal morning for Garfield. He had woken up, showered, gotten into civvies and had made his way into the common room. He had been dragged into helping M'Gaan bake, simply because Connor was still sleeping and she wanted some assistance and 'sibling bonding time'. He didn't refuse. Helping her bake meant she wouldn't being trying to force herbal tea down his throat.

He still was not happy about Raven introducing his sister to herbal tea. It had resulted in M'Gaan wanting him to drink it on a regular basis because 'It's healthy, Garfield.' and 'It's relaxing for your soul.' She had even used the 'It helps you feel much better; makes you feel at peace.' line that Raven had used on him a hundred times before.

He had, of course, drank herbal tea before. And he most certainly, did not enjoy that experience. It did not make him feel calm. His soul did not feel any more relaxed. He didn't feel any healthier than he already was. He felt more agitated than peaceful. And it was disgusting.

He had come to the conclusion long ago that he was not a being of peace. He was something primal and animalistic; _hell_ he had the word 'Beast' in his code-name for a _reason_. He could not do peace, it was something that was beyond him. He liked to move; be it stealthily, brash or jittery, he had to be moving. He needed to be active, to be doing something. His personality was affected by each and every creature he could become, and so naturally, peace was never really an option.

"Gar, pass me the caster sugar please?"

He handed over the bowl to his sister. She smiled brightly as she continued with the mix. She reminded him of Starfire, with her constant cooking. But unlike Starfire, M'Gaan was more interested in cooking Earthen food than Martian food. Garfield wasn't sure which was better.

"Will Raven be coming over today?"

He raised an eyebrow slightly as he shrugged. "I dunno. Star's adamant on spending some time with her."

"You should invite Kori over one day. I would love to officially meet her! Another alien girl, it would be interesting to compare Earthly experiences!"

Gar cocked his head to the side, he had all but forgotten that M'Gaan and Koriand'r had never officially met. They had spoken over transmissions, and had seemed to get along well enough, but they had never actually met in person. He considered inviting the Tamaranian over, but he was sure Dick would throw a fit.

"I'll speak to her about it the next time I see her, 'kay?"

M'Gaan grinned. "Really? That would be brilliant. You said she likes to cook? We could compare recepies and-"

Gar zoned her out. He tried not to envision the disaster of Star cooking some Tamaranian dish for M'Gaan... He could only imagine the horror should Miss M actually enjoy what she ate. He knew it was a possibility. M'Gaan had told him once before that she enjoyed eating different foods. And some of the thing's M'Gaan had tried... He shuddered at the thought.

"_B20, Robin._"

Gar's head snapped up, his eyes widened. He muttered a 'sorry sis' before running through the common room to the zeta beams. At that moment nothing really mattered other than the fact Tim Drake had returned. One of Gar's closest friends on the Young Justice team had come back after being missing for weeks.

"ROBIN!" He yelled out as he spotted the boy, who was dressed uncharacteristically, even for being in civvies.

Robin looked at him and smiled weakly. "Hey, BB."

Gar waisted no time in pulling his friend into a hug, squeezing tightly for a moment before pulling back. "Bart's going to be so happy to hear your alright. This place is going to the dogs, seriously, we've missed you so much – enough about us though, how are you? How have you been? Is everything been okay? When I asked Dick he began screaming at me that it was none of my business and you were some sort of traitor just like me and Bart and Raven and he was going on and on and I figured something bad went down. Did you's have a huge blow out, cos I'm here for you man-"

"Breath, Garfield, breath." Tim laughed.

"So?"

"I'm fine. I've ditched the batcave and I'm staying at Artemis's place for now. I refuse to talk to Dick because – well, like he did with you, he began screaming at me and calling me a traitor. I just – he's changed so much and it scares me..."

"You and me both, Tim. Though I believe it's scaring everyone." Gar flashed an apologetic smile.

"But anyway, that's not why I'm here." He took in a deep breath. "I assume you haven't a. Been summoned to Titan's Tower or b. No one's delivered anything here?"

Gar raised an eyebrow. "No. No one-"

"_Visitor: T-Raven_"

Raven appeared in one of the zeta tubes and smiled weakly at the two boys. "Robin?"

"Hey, Raven." Tim smiled at her.

Despite wearing sunglasses, Gar could tell that Tim's gaze was focused on the thick white envelope held in Raven's hand's. As if she sensed it as well, Raven's face tightened slightly as she moved towards them.

"Mail call for Beast Boy. Figured it was better me delivering it than Dick summoning him."

She held the envelope out for Garfield and he warily took it from her. He arched an eyebrow slightly as he noticed the 'Garfield Logan' rather than the usual 'Beast Boy'. Which, in his mind, gave only a limited number of senders. Either a member of the Doom Patrol, or someone else in the superhero community. But the stamps on the envelope... Someone higher up knew his secret identity – not that he had much of a secret identity, but he had been under the impression that the only people who knew who Beast Boy really was, were those among the superhero community.

He stared down at it, confused. "It's from the State Department." He muttered aloud, more to himself than anything else. Voicing it just made it all the more believable.

Robin cleared his throat, a slight, sheepish smile on his face. "That's why I tried to get here as fast as I could. I wanted to let you know that I've been trying as hard as I could to get you and Bart citizenship. At least verified as American citizens. Bart's should be arriving tomorrow. I dunno what forms or whatever are in there, but they should guarentee you full citizenship.

"See, after you blew up at Schmitt, I done some investigation. I hacked the systems and it's all there. Your birth details. You are an official American citizen. I sent the evidence to Schmitt and he said he was sorry for the mix up ect, ect, all that regular bs. But he promised to send everything across so you could verify it and what-not. And he even promised to verify Bart's citizenship."

Garfield grinned at his friend. "Seriously, dude. You're awesome. I knew all the details were there! They were just too stuck up their own backsides to actually bother looking into it."

He tore open the letter and pulled out the sheets of paper that were inside. His eyes scanned the first page. A sudden burst of anger surged through his veins. Every single bad thing he had ever thought about Duncan, Schmitt and every other member of the Dictating party intensified. He felt close to tears and his stomach was churning.

"Those assholes."

Tim looked at him. "What's the matter?"

Gar shook his head in disbelief. "You showed them the evidence... I'm American and- _This_!" He waved the sheets of paper about. "Is illegal. What they are doing is illegal. Everything about their dictating asses, is illegal! Listen to this!

"_Dear Mr. Logan: Your claim to United States citizenship has been thoroughly reviewed._

_And we are very sorry to inform you that your claim had been denied. But due to your outstanding service to the country and its people you will avoid deportation. By filling out the forms supplied with this letter you can apply to get a green card that will grant you American citizenship-_"

He shook his head and took in a deep breath. Raven's eyes had widened and Tim was frowning deeply. Gar stopped reading and looked at his two friends. "If that's what they've sent me, what the hell are they going to send Bart?"

"They can't do this." Tim murmured. "It's illegal. You _are_ American. I saw the evidence and showed them the proof."

Raven turned to look at Tim. "What happens if he doesn't fill out the forms?"

Gar almost smiled. _Almost_. It was almost as if Raven knew what was going through his head. Because he wasn't willing to fill out the forms. He wasn't willing to apply for a citizenship he already had. There was blinding evidence. He was American. The American government even knew that, so why were they saying he wasn't? Why did they want him to apply for his citizenship?

"What happens to anyone that doesn't fill them out?" Tim retorted. "He'll be deported." Then he shook his head. "No. But they won't. He's a meta... He'll be dubbed a criminal." He looked at Gar. "You don't fill out those forms, and they'll make us arrest you."

_**BINGO**_. He thought to himself. Of course that's why he wasn't granted citizenship. And the same would go for Bart. If they didn't apply for their citizenship they would be declared enemies of the state, they would be arrested, told to run, and killed. And that would be the start of the war against Superheroes and vigilantes.

He looked through the forms. Suddenly considering the prospect of filling them out. But there was something at the back of his mind telling him no. Something telling him there was more to it than just applying for citize-

_**BINGO**_.

"I can't." He murmured. "I can't do it." The anger was resurfacing once again. "The pledge... I've to – I've got to pledge my allegiance to Duncan and his dictatorship."

The forms were ripped from his hand as Raven read through it.

"Bart's going to receive the same thing." Tim stated. "There's no question about that. And- And you can't agree to this. Who in their right mind would agree to something like this?"

"Then, this is it. Isn't it?" Gar looked at Raven and she nodded.

"We have less than a week to leave the country."


	8. Leaving The Cave

**I would like to apologise for taking so long to update this story. I've recently left school, and before that I had my exams. I've been incredibly busy recently and it doesn't help that my wrist is also still causing me a few problems. So I am truly sorry for taking so long to update. I hope to be updating more regularly again, from now on.**

* * *

After a brief conversation with Bart, they had left the Cave. Tim had decided it would be best if they all went to see Artemis – sort out a plan. The four of them had been led into the living room, where Artemis had been watching the news. The television had switched off immediately when she saw the four of them.

"What happened?" Her voice had been cutting, a layer of worry hidden in her tone. Her grey eyes had scanned over each of them, panic radiating off of each of them.

"Garfield received this, today." Raven had held out the envelope, and Artemis took it warily.

Gar had zoned out after that, not wanting to hear the same thing all over again. Barts reaction had been one of outrage; his emotions had been so over-whelming he had began vibrating on the spot.  
To say Gar was worried would be an understatement. He had no idea what would happen in the coming days. His future was more than just uncertain. He would be a wanted criminal, for a crime that was not even a crime. His hatred for Duncan had merely intensified and a part of him was quite happy to leave the country; to get to freedom.

"Maybe this is fate." Artemis's voice cut through his musings, grasping his attention. He looked up as she picked up a small box. "This arrived today, from Zatanna. There are eleven glamour charms." The blonde snorted back some laughter. "Extra in case anything happens to the ones we wear."

Raven inspected the contents with the box, a small smile playing on her pale lips. "Hmm, another of Deathstroke's allies, I suppose." Her violet eyes had lit up as she looked at the taller girl. "You know what this means. If Zatanna is with this alliance, we should expect the rest of the Justice League to be as well."

"A part of me had been suspecting that." Gar spoke up. "I mean, with the Doom Patrol having joined them, a part of me guessed that the Justice League had followed suit. Or vice versa."

"And what about us?" Artemis asked, her voice dropping slightly. "Do we join them?"

"I think we should." Tim piped up.

Bart smiled tightly and nodded. "I'd get to see gramps again, hopefully."

"I do not think the five of us should spilt up." Raven said quietly. "Separating could end up being a bad idea. We have only a small idea as to what is going on. If we're going on the run, we go together."

They all exchanged a look before agreeing.

And then they formed their plan. They would pack up only what they really needed before the end of the day. At four am they would meet at the Gotham zeta-tube where Raven would take them up to her safe house in Canada. They would join the alliance they all knew so little about. But over all, their main plan was – keep ourselves safe.  
Because at the end of the day, not one of them know just what Duncans goal really was. But what they did know, was that countries such as Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and even Japan had become a little too close to America. It had been on the news, the changes such countries were starting to bring in. Safety for those who had fled would be difficult.

* * *

It was midnight, and he had been trying to fall asleep for almost an hour. His packed bags at the bottom of his bed, his alarm set for three thirty. He was tossing and turning, unable to get himself relaxed enough to fall into a relatively peaceful sleep. All he wanted was just a few hours sleep.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a cool hand touch his upper arm. He was hot and sticky; the result of being stressed out, part beast and unable to sleep. The hand felt somewhat dry on his arm, and was unnaturally cool. His first instinct had been to attack, but he repressed that urge as he rolled over slightly to glare up at whoever it was disturbing him in his already disturbed state.

"R-Raven?" He propped himself up on his elbows. "Wha' the 'ell?"

She rolled her eyes. "I forgot to mention earlier... Slade wanted to talk to us at midnight."

His eyes narrowed once again before he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He rubbed at his eyes and let out a tired groan. "Let's get this over with then."

His head was still mushy from his state of his exhaustion and restless not-sleep state. He barely registered Slades voice as his mind felt dizzy and empty; some what void of everything.

"Gar." Raven nudged him in the ribs and his eyes flew open, his eyes focusing on the unfamiliar face on the small screen.  
He had only ever seen Deathstroke in his black and bronze mask. He had never seen the mans slightly wrinkled face or thin, filmy pink lips. He had never seen the tired black circle under the mans sharp grey eye. He had not known that the older man even wore a black eye patch over his right eye.

"Slade." He nodded slightly in greeting, and the older man's lips twitched.

Of course, using the name Slade was far more accurate than the use of Deathstroke. Slade was the man beneath the mask, Deathstroke was the mask. They were not talking hero to villain, they were talking person to person. Garfield Logan, not Beast Boy and Slade Wilson, not Deathstroke. Gar seemed to marvel in just what a name and a mask could actually do to a person.

"I assume the two of you are going to be leaving soon-"

"This mornin'." Gar mumbled, cutting Slade off.

An almost grin appeared on the mans pale face, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. "I assume this must have something to do with what you received in the mail earlier then. Not good news? No. I did not think so." The older man let out a sigh. "Am I to presume that Artemis, Robin and the Impulse shall be leaving as well."

"That presumption would be accurate." Raven responded.

"The tide is turning, my friends." Gar was coherent enough to want to sneer at the last word, but he held it in. "I think you might want to keep an eye on the news over the next few days. Duncan has been so very busy. He has kept everyone so focused on his polices that he has been able to put some of his real plan's into action." The mans face became solemn. "I think it would be safe to say, that no matter what happens, those of us who are not metas will only be slightly better off than those who are."

"What do you mean?" Raven questioned, her brow furrowing.

Slade smiled tightly. "As I said, my dear, keep an eye on the news. I shall speak to you very soon, for now, good bye and good luck."

The screen went blank.

Garfield turned to look at Raven with a raised eyebrow. "Cryptic much?"

She let out a breathy laugh, her gaze turning to land on Gar. Her shoulders dropped slightly, her eyes shutting. "What did you expect, it's Slade."

"True."

* * *

He had gotten, at most, an hours sleep. He was already awake when his alarm went off, and so he shut it off and hauled himself out of bed. After a brief shower, he got dressed into civvies and grabbed his rucksack, throwing it over his shoulder. He picked up the smaller bag and grabbed the envelope off the side of the table. He picked up the communicator from Slade and tucked it into his pocket before grabbing his Titans communicator and placing into the top drawer of his bedside table.

He slipped out of his room and made his way to the common room. He placed the envelope – addressed to M'Gaan onto the kitchen table just as Bart zoomed into the room. He smiled nervously at his friend before the two made their way to the zeta-tubes. Taking once last look around the room, the coordinates were set, and the two of them left the cave for the last time.

* * *

__M'Gaan,__

__ I want to apologise. I know you won't understand why I have done what I have, and that is that I have left. Bart and I cannot do this any more. We cannot live in a country where a man is dictating what people can and cannot do. We cannot live in a country where the leader is allowing brutal force to be used on people for the fact that they were criminals.  
This man refused to acknowledge that Bart and I are American citizens and would only grant us citizenship if we pledged our allegiance – not to the country, but to him. I refuse to give allegiance to a man who would blow up a city in his own country simply to gain dictatorship.  
Others in the team – others in the hero community – are too blind to see it. But like Cassie and La'gaan, Bart and I see it too. We refuse to stay in the country and so we are leaving. I won't tell you where we are going, all I say is that we are going to be okay. We are getting out of here, and my advice to you is to take Connor and Jaime and leave; trust me, they have been suspecting what Bart and I saw. __

__Please, sister, get out of there while you can.__

__Love you,__

__Garfield.__


	9. Thank You, Dick

**As a part of my apology for not updating in so long. I've decided to add another chapter. Two updates in one day, score!**

* * *

Gregory Duncan sat in his office, his face emotionless. In his hand was a half empty glass of brandy, sat on the table was a glass of wine. Sat just in front of him was a note book and a pen. He was sat somewhat patiently, waiting for Schmitt to bring up his...guest.

The door opened and Gregory's thin lips tugged into an almost smile. His bland green eyes seemed to almost light up as the young man entered the room. He pushed the glass of wine across the table as the dark haired man sat down opposite him.  
He watched, silently judging as the young man drank from the glass. He waited until there was not a drop of liquid left, and then he let himself relax, knowing he had full control of the current situation. He liked the visits from his current guest, they gave him the insight and the intell that he needed. They gave him what he wanted, and allowed him to take his plans further.

_Everything_ was under his control. He had eyes and ears where he wanted them, and the majority of the civilians were buying into everything he threw at them – the minority he could handle later. His plans all seemed to be going ahead of schedule, and with the help of the British, French, Japanese and Australian governments, everything was going perfectly.

The leaders of Britain, France, Australia and Japan had all agreed with his most important goal – his _secret_ goal. They were helping him, and he was helping them. Five countries in five different parts of the world, united. With a little more time, everything would go his way. With the hero community splitting, villains fleeing and so many of them already having been arrested, there was very few people able to stop him.

"I heard that Artemis, Beast Boy, Impulse, Raven and Robin have gone missing. Do you have any leads?"

The young man in front of him shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir, but no. They disappeared at some point during the night. Beast Boy and Impulse took the zeta-beam to Gotham and that's that the last that was seen of them. Where they have gone, no one knows."

Internally, Gregory was enraged. Three meta's, gone. Two of whom he had been desperate to get a hold of. Two of whom he had needed. But he pushed that to the side, he could deal with that later.  
He dropped his eyes to the notepad in front of him, taking in the information he had already memorised. "And you are positive you have supplied me with the names of all those present during your battle with the Brotherhood; including the villains."

"That is correct, sir." The younger scrunched his face up slightly. "Though I do not understand why you have asked now? I gave that to you weeks ago."

"Ah, yes. This is the reason I asked you to turn up today." Gregory pulled on an emotionless mask, his eyes steeling as he looked at the younger man. "I want the details of the event. I am already aware that you were out of action for the majority of the battle. I wish to know who pulled off the infiltration; who took charge and how everything was pulled off."

"Beast Boy lead the infiltration with Pantha, Mas, Herald and Jericho." The story tumbled out of his guests mouth and he scribbled down the details. He restrained from raising an eyebrow at the fact Beast Boy had managed to pull it all off. He was surprised to hear that the green boy was more than just a jokester, but he held his tongue, taking the notes so that he could look it over later.

After having heard the entire story, he came to a conclusion. A pivitol conclusion. _One should not underestimate Beast Boy's abilities_. And his stomach twisted nervously, because he already had.

"Thank you, Dick, that will be all."

* * *

Gar was pacing, he was exhausted but that did not mean he was going to allow himself to simply, 'conk out'. He was too _awake_ to give in to the exhaustion. His mind was too active. He was terrified and excited at the same time. Only an hour ago the five of them had been declared enemies of the state.

He was unsure how he was supposed to take that, but he was pretty sure his 'hell yeah' and high-fiving of Bart, was not it. Artemis and Raven had given the two boys a pretty disapproving look. But how else was he supposed to take the fact that he was an outlaw, a fugitive, a wanted criminal; and he had escaped.  
Okay, so he didn't want to be a runaway fugitive, but hey, he could at least add it to his list of 'things I did before I turned twenty'. Plus, it wasn't like he wanted to remain in a country with a crazy-ass dictator in charge. Canada was against Duncan's regime, and so they were safe enough there – Artemis's British safe house was out of the question.

She was arranging to put it up for sale.

They were staying at Ravens, it had three bedrooms and so Bart and Gar had opted to share, and Artemis was sharing with Raven.

Gar had been pacing for what must have been about ten minutes, and Bart had given up on watching as he made another 'lap'. But after everything had been 'sorted' and they had been declared state enemies, Gar's brain had gone into overdrive. He wanted to know what Slade meant.

The news was on the small radio in the room and he was making sure to listen to anything that related to Duncan, or America or even Australia, Britain, France and Japan. He needed to know. He had to be prepared. Beast Boy was all but gone, and Garfield had come to the surface.  
He was trying to think back on anything that might give him a small clue as to what was going on. Dick had been acting off – very off. At first he had just assumed that was just the over-zealous, bat-boy taking over. But then it got worse, and his behavioural pattern had become off, his voice was slightly different, he was on edge all the time and he even smelled _off_. With the revelation that Dick was actually Romani, Gar knew that he was right to be suspicious. Dick was suffering from something more than just a strong political opinion.

Gar was able to deduce that whatever Duncan was doing, Dick had a bigger part in it than anyone in the hero – or villain – community would ever want to imagine.

"Bart?"

The speedster shot up, suddenly stood in front of the shape-shifter. "You done pacing? 'Cause seriously dude, you might actual create a hole, and I'm pretty sure-"

"Bart!"

"Yeah? Right. _Sorry_." He lifted his shoulders slightly and smiled sheepishly.

Gar bit down on his lip. "I need your opinion on something."

* * *

M'Gaan was stood in the kitchen, her gaze focused on the table, tears dripping down her cheeks. She had known her blood-brother had been unhappy, but she had not realised the depth of his unhappiness. She wished he had told her, explained to her – let her into his mind so that she could _understand_. She could have went with him.

Connor was sat by her side, holding her hand in one of his much bigger hands. It did nothing to sooth the pain in her heart. She felt more loss than she had in her entire life. She had abandoned her family to come to earth, she had lost her earthen roll model, she had almost lost her uncle on a number of occasions, and yet it was the running away of a young boy she had adopted as her brother that made her feel abandoned.

"Should we do it?" Jaime's voice cut through her thoughts and she lifted her head. An eyebrow rose and the boy pressed on. "Should we leave, like BB told us to?"

She wanted to say yes. She wanted to run, to flee. But she knew not where her brother was, where her uncle was. There was no Superman to go to, and it would risk the Kent's lives to go to them. They would be abandoning Kaldur – who, although he had not spoken much of it, supported Duncan. They would be leaving Karen and Mal and Wally. She was more surprised at the latter of the three supporting the new President; but Wally was always filled with surprises.

"I think we should."

They would be leaving everything they knew behind. They would be drastically changing their lives. M'Gaan had always loved the thought of adventure, but the thought of leaving her friends, her _family_, behind, she was unsure.

"I think you should too."

She nearly jumped out of her skin. Wally had appeared at the end of the table, green eyes watching each of them, a serious look on his face. His eyes held something in them, something that was not the betrayal she was expecting. His eyes were layered with worry and determination. The loyalty was radiating off of him, and M'Gaan felt herself getting slightly scared of what was coming.

"Gar and Bart had the right idea, Meg." Wally said calmly. "They wanted out, and they got out. They left and told you to do so as well. I know you're not a supporter of Duncan, none of you are." The red head took in a deep breath, a frown forming on his face. "If you don't leave, I'll make you." His eyes opened again and he focused firmly on her face. "M'Gaan, you are Garfield's sister, and right now he is the most wanted person in America. They are going to come for you, and they are going to force us to hand you over. I don't fancy having to do that."

She nodded, her mind making itself up.

"And Megs. I would rather not have to hear on the news that you're another prisoner that's been shot." Wally smiled bitterly at them before grabbing a cookie and speeding off. The sound of the word 'goodbye' dying on her ears.

She looked between her boyfriend and Jaime. She finally knew what they had to do. They had no plan, no safe house, no nothing. But they had the bio-ship and they had each other. They would be fine. They would hunt out Garfield, or her uncle, or Superman, maybe even the Justice League.

"Then we will leave, tonight."

A dark chuckle came from the kitchens entrance.

"I don't think so, Miss M."

She took in a deep breath as she turned her gaze to their new company. A frown formed in her face, realising she had missed the sound of the computer announcing her arrival. And for some reason, fear began to flood through her body.


	10. The Beast Incident

**So, uh, this chapter is _far_ from what I initially planned it to be. It's a little darker than it was intended to be, and there's a bit more 'bonding' than I had expected to put in. People don't joke when they say the characters write the story, not the author.**

**Anyways, I hope y'all like it.**

* * *

Gar was sitting in the living room, green eyes focused on the television screen. His heart was pounding in his chest and his breathing was shallow. He was disgusted by what he was witnessing. Absolutely and completely _disgusted_.

"How _DARE HE! THAT SON OF A B_-"

"Garfield!"

He turned his gaze to Raven, tears pricking his eyes as his hands curled into fists. His jaw was locked as he glared at her. "You. Cannot. Tell. Me. That You Are Not Disgusted As Well."

She looked him in the eye and a small sigh escaped her lips. "I'm horrified, Garfield. But yelling at a TV screen will solve nothing. Letting your anger take over, will solve nothing."

He pulled his gaze off of her and turned back to the screen. How could this have happened? How could they have not noticed that this was what was going to happen? All their talks on what Duncan was up to, and this never even crossed their minds. How had they never thought of it? Why had they never thought of it?

"_Criminal meta-humans will be sent to the following Internment Camps that have been built specifically for the detainment of super-powered beings_." Gar felt himself trembling with anger as he glared at the screen, it was the closest he had felt to the beast in a very long time.

The couch was trembling slightly and it took him a moment to realise that Bart was vibrating so quickly that the entire couch was starting to vibrate with him. Gar turned his eyes to his friend, fear was etched onto the brunets face and tears had been dripping down his cheeks. That only fuelled the rage Gar was feeling; Bart had come to the past to stop the reach from enslaving people and was now having to witness humanity turning against the meta's.

"_Any metahuman that stands against President Duncan's and his regime will be sent to these camps. Any metahuman who is caught trying to flee the country will be detained and sent to one of these camps. Any of the so called super-villains, that are not meta's will also be sent to these camps. Any non-meta heroes who turn traitor will also be sent to these camps._

"_Anyone caught helping a traitorous meta will also be sent to one of these camps._"

Gar felt as if his mind was pulsing. He could feel the anger mixing with adrenaline as he stared at the television screen. Not for the first time, did he wish that he could shift in the same way that M'Gaan could. He wished desperately that he could shift so his skin was no longer green, so that he could hide with as much ease as the others.

"_Already imprisoned meta's or villains have been transferred to one of the four already completed camp-_"

"_In addition, the Young Justice members, Kid Flash, Miss Martian and Superboy have been apprehended-_"

"_It was reported that like other members of their team they had turned traitor; with Miss Martian and Superboy planning to flee the country and Kid Flash persuading them to do so 'for their own safety', they have been apprehended._

"_From the moment President Duncan has stepped into power, the so called heroes have been proving themselves to be incompetent. Unable to assist with the real crime problems, that they have been battling for years. In just under a year, President Duncan has made a real difference in the crime rates; unlike these meta-humans that have supposedly dedicated their lives to help others. We as a people are getting to see how useless and how dangerous these creatures really are-_"

The screen went blank; Tim's shaking hand held the remote as he stared at the blank screen.

'_Kid Flash, Miss Martian and Superboy have been apprehended._'

'_Miss Martian and Superboy have been apprehended._'

'_Miss Martian, apprehended._'

He was shaking, tears flooded down his cheeks. He was angry. Furious even. His sister had been arrested, and for what? For trying to leave the country. His sister! His _MARTIAN_ sister! Not even a meta. That meant Kori and Raven were in just as much trouble if it came to it. Superboy was half-Kryptonian, half-human; not a meta.

His heart was pounding so loudly it was a beating drum in his ears. His breathing had increased again to the point that he was panting. His bones were aching and he felt the desire to kill something, or more specifically, someone. Whatever bastard had been the one to apprehend his sister.

He heard the crack in his bones and the growl in his head.

And for the second time in his life, he refused to fight the change. He let the pain take over as his bones cracked and shifted. He let the feeling of mindlessness take over – except that, he wasn't mindless, not completely. He had some control over himself. For the first time he was not the Beast, but nor was he Beast Boy.

He was Garfield Logan.

* * *

Both Tim and Artemis had fled the room the moment Raven had yelled at them all to leave. Bart, however, had stayed. He had watched with a twisted fascination as his best friends body cracked and crunched. He had observed as the fur grew, spreading across the entirety of the massive body that did not belong to the Beast Boy he knew. He heard the growls, the snarling and even the whines. He had watched in morbid fascination as the young man became the largest..._Beast_ he had ever laid eyes upon.

He had heard both Raven and Dick mention the '_Beast Incident_', watched as Garfield flinched whenever it was even referenced. He had seen the fear that sparked in his best friends eyes whenever the topic was thrown into the air. And he supposed, that what he had just witnessed was what was behind the snippets of the tale he had heard not quite enough about.

Even in his future, the 'Beast Incident' had never really been spoken about. It was a sensitive topic to Gar, that much he was acutely aware of.

But sometimes, when his friend had ever gotten angry, he had seen something spark in his eyes. Something wild and primal. Something Bart was both curious and terrified of. He knew not to underestimate his friend but never had that been because of what lingered beneath the skin. After all, he had only just discovered what lingered beneath the skin of Garfield Logan.

"Bart, you should leave." Ravens voice was oddly calm, peaceful even. And Bart pulled his eyes off of the massive creature in front of him, to look at the half-demon.

She was standing just in front of Gar, her hand on the snout of the Beast, eyes closed. She looked as close to peaceful as Bart had ever seen her. Her breathing was calm and even, and Bart's curiosity was heightened once again. He knew she played a large part in 'the Beast Incident', and he was even more desperate to know what had actually occurred.

"I-" Bart was at a loss for words, torn by his desire to stay and desire to live. "He couldn't hurt me even if he wanted to."

It was true, he could easily out run Gar if he had to. And someone had to make sure Raven was not about to get hurt. He knew Gar would never forgive himself if he hurt someone, even if he was not in control at the time.

"This is a first." She muttered quietly. "He has become the Beast only twice before. Both times, my life was in danger. Now the only family he has left has been put into a hell hole, and she was not even a meta. He worries for her life." She lifted her head, eyes meeting Barts. "I am doing everything I can to keep him calm. If he lets his anger control him, the Canadian government could change there opinion on meta's. Duncan already has enough allies."

Bart turned his gaze back onto Gar. His shaking feet took him closer to the massive Beast that was, but was not his friend. Nervously, he held out his hand. Curiously, he let his fingers touch the mass of fur on his friends neck. Thick and soft. He was fascinated. Everything seemed somewhat surreal.

"His anger does this to him?" He felt safer broaching the subject, now that he had bore witness to the transformation.

"There was an accident in a chemical plant. He got covered in something that changed him. This- What you are seeing, is Garfield Logan in his most primal form." He missed the soft smile that tugged at her pale lips. "Everyone always believes that out of the Titans, I am the one with the worst anger problems. If I let my anger take over, I become a Demon. I have control of my anger, however. Despite having a reputation for being emotionless, I show more emotion than he does – even if what I show is simply a coffee cup exploding."

Bart was surprised he was hearing so much, getting to know so much. He did not know Raven too well, they had been in each others presences often enough and shared a conversation or five, but he was 'just another Wally' to her. They did not know one another.

"Gar, however, shows emotions. He is happy almost constantly; he demonstrates joy and determination. I have seen his sad on occasion, but he twists it so quickly and pretends he is happy. It is rare he lets people know how he really feels. His emotions are always so hidden behind his mask of joking and happiness. People think they know him- but they don't. They never feel what I do. They never see how hurt he gets when they call him grass-stain or make some other skin related joke. They don't feel how frustrated he gets when something goes wrong, when he knows they shouldn't. People do not know Garfield Logan."

And her gaze was on him once again. He turned to meet her burning eyes, the intensity of it startled him slightly. "He wears a mask, Bart. Just like you do. People forget about the fact that I feel everything. I know that you are nothing like your cousin, despite the fact you act so much like him; as if all you are doing is trying to be another speedster. Gar hides behind his jokes like you hide behind your bravado, you two being so close is unsurprising." Her eyes turned back to Garfield. "After the Beast Incident, I finally succeeded in getting to know Garfield, and Garfield finally succeeded in getting to know me."

A low growl rumbled from Gar. And Barts eyes returned to the Beast. His mind was whirring as he studied his friend carefully.

"Why can we not just sick 'im on Duncan?" He gave a dry laugh.

It was a joke, of course it was, to have Gar kill the President would result in a whole new set of problems. Problems Bart knew they probably would not survive through. But when Gars head turned, and those impossibly dark eyes locked onto his own, Bart was positive that what he had said had not been taken so lightly by his friend. And that was when he caughtened on to the depth of the new situation.

Garfield was not just angry, like Raven had said. Angry simply sugercoated the situation. Garfield was a primal being, his emotions were more raw than a 'normal' persons. And Bart had always known this, he just had never understood.

But as he looked into Gar's eyes, he did understand. He finally understood what Raven did.

Garfield was not just angry.

He was _bloodthirsty_.

And Bart, found that this did not scare him in the slightest. If anything, he felt slightly more alive than he had in a long time.


	11. Tears

**Sh-should I even attempt to apologise for the hatius? I am truly sorry to all of you who read and enjoyed this story, I've been so very, _very_ ill. I can't apologise enough. I love this story, this idea. And I'm glad I've finally been able to update. I know it isn't the greatest, but I hope it's okay.**

* * *

When the whole world knows who you are, how can you possibly hide? This was Jaime's only thought as he flew as fast and as hard as he could. His heartbeat ringing in his ears. He wanted somewhere to land. Somewhere he could hide, where he could break down and just cry. To just let everything out.

But that luxury wasn't there for the taking. That luxury didn't exist in this new world.

How he had managed to escape, and the others had not, he would never know. A part of him simply _refused_ to question it. The fear that he did something wrong, something awful was not one he needed or even _wanted _confirmed.

All he knew was he _had_ to disappear.

But how?

Where?

The world was slowly coming together. Supporting Duncan's disgusting plan.

To think, he had even supported Duncan in the beginning. There would be nothing in the world that he could ever regret more than that. Nothing he _would_ ever regret more. How could he have possibly supported someone _that_ psycho? How could Nightwing _still_ support someone _that_ psycho?

Sighing, Jaime slowly lowered himself. It had been over a day since he had fled the Cave. It had been _hours_ since he had touched land, and he needed to rest. He needed food, water and rest. And maybe, just maybe, he needed to cry. To let out the pent up emotion that was slowly _suffocating_ him.

And he _needed_ a game plan. Work out what he was going to do, and how he was going to accomplish it. Would he simply hide? Escape the horrors of this new world and just try to live a simple, _normal_ life. Or would he do his _damnedest_ to fight it? To hunt out his friends and do right by the world, like the hero he was _supposed_ to be. He could hunt out Gar and the others, join them and crusade against the evil. Fight tooth and nail to prove that there was some good left in this world; left in _him_.

If only all the answers could fall at his feet.

His feet hit the ground, and the armour disappeared.

"Jaime?"

_What. The. Fuck?!_ His mind screamed. _I'm not even in the US any more! Who the hell has recognised me?_

Turning around, his eyes widened as a tall blonde with wide blue eyes ran towards him.

_No. Way._

He didn't believe that he had flown all that time, with _nothing_ but fear chasing him across the world, just to find himself stood on what appeared to be a small farm, where the ever _amazing_ Cassie Sandsmark just happened to be.

He had to have known where he was going. _Somehow_, some part of him _had _to have known. There was no other explanation for having the blonde envelope him in a hug.

He felt as if his bones were about to break, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He returned her hug full force, having little to no control over himself or his emotions. Spending so long just running, fuelled by nothing but fear and having M'Gaans screams, and Connor and Wally's plead's and yells stuck in his head; it exhausted him.

Being hugged made him realise just how desperately he needed contact. So he held on as tight as he could, buried his head into Cassies shoulder, and did something that would probably haunt and humiliate him for the rest of his life.

He let it all out. Tears. Sobs. It all.

He felt helpless and useless. He felt as if he had betrayed his friends by escaping, while they were trapped in some kind of hell hole.

It was his fault.

"I left them." Was all he said before he completely broke down.

* * *

_Is this what betrayal feels like?_ Victor asked himself as he stared at the computer in front of him.

Gar was _gone_. His best friend had disappeared along with the girl he had thought to be his sister. Vanished, in the middle of the night. Not even the kindness of a goodbye. He would never have told 'Wing if they had visited him. God, that man had no shame, and apparently no morals either. Happily handing over friends to him.

_Everything _was falling apart at his fingertips, and he couldn't hold it together. Nothing was holding together and it made him feel ill. It made him hurt. As if he had lost his entire family.

Perhaps he had.

A tear dripped down his cheek, wiping it away, he turned to look at the picture on his desk. It was the Titans the day they moved into the Tower. Things had been so simple back then. He missed it; _longed_ for it.

He missed them.

Now two were AWOL, one was semi-psychotic and proving to be the exact opposite of what he claimed to be, and Star was...

His heart ached as he lowered his head, another tear slipping down his cheek. He should probably go back and check on her.

Standing up, he took in a deep breath. When did he start feeling so exhausted? Victor couldn't bring himself to even try and think back to the last time he felt totally rested.

The walk to Star's room felt longer than it usually did. But every journey there always felt longer than the last. The fear and anxiety making his heart pound and his blood feel cold. His fingers twitched nervously as he got closer. It made him think of nightmares where the corridors just seemed to get longer and longer by the second.

Was his life now a nightmare?

It certainly wasn't a nice dream? And it felt _far_ too surreal to be reality. How could such misery be real?

Raising his hand, his fist collided with the door in front of him.

"Star?"

No reply.

A second, louder knock.

"_Star_?"

No reply.

A third knock. A loud _**clang**_ of metal against metal.

"_STAR_?"

No reply.

It didn't take long to override the system and open her door. His heart pounded in his ears, drowning out any other noise as he entered the room. The long, lean figure of the red-headed alien caught his attention immediately.

She was curled up on her bed, the shaking implied that yes, she was _okay _– as okay as someone in her mindset could be. Taking in a deep breath, he felt his heart slow down.

It was routine, or at least as routine as something could become in the space of three days.

Victor approached her bed and slowly sat down on the edge, extending his hand and resting in on her arm. The shaking seemed to stop, and he could swear he saw Silkie wrapped tightly in her arms.

_Gar gave her Silkie_. He tried to ignore that thought.

"Star?" He asked quietly, trying to sound as gentile as possible.

There was a small movement, which was more than he got from her earlier. A green eye peeked up at him through the mass of tangled hair. What he saw in her eye almost killed him. The sorrow and pain, a reflection of what he felt inside himself. _Loss_.

"Nightwing has left for a few days. Says we better not up and leave while we're gone." He couldn't bare to tell her that they were now under constant surveillance. She was trapped on a planet that was not her own. "I can make us a nice dinner? T-Tofu eggs, real bacon and tea?"

A nod. It was small, but he saw it.

He stood up, and moved his hand to hold out for her. An offer of more than just helping her up. An offer of unity. He would stay by her side until it was all over. He _refused_ to leave her.

She took his hand.


End file.
